The Age Factor

A year and a half after we left Brown University in '55, some of my classmates were trained to fly the Strategic Air Command's new B-52 bombers. These monster aircraft, products then of the latest technology, were only four or five years old - virtually new. We were roughly 24 years old - we were pretty new too!

Recently I took my annual tour to Utah and Wyoming in my Beech F-33A, departing Daytona Beach. My first stop was Shreveport-Barksdale, the current B-52 training base. My friends were gone. The B-52s, at age 50-plus years, however, are there and still flying. The kids flyin' 'em, however, are still only 24 years old. There's got to be a message.

Today, when we go out to select a general aviation aircraft for personal or corporate use, we are not always presented with the luxury of looking at last year's model, say of a 182 Skylane RG, or a 5-year-old Cessna 210 Centurion. More likely, we'll find choices among 1971 to 1979 models - those were the great years of GA production aircraft.

The RG, for example, ran from '78 through '86 before being discontinued. Various versions of the 210 ran from 1960 to 1986. 1976 was GA's biggest year, with roughly 17,000 aircraft produced - compare that with today's paltry production in fractional relative numbers.

Now we can find a lot wrong with this situation, but amazingly, good aircraft are still available from those years. The B-52s are still flying from the '50s and the Cessnas, Pipers and Beeches are still flying, some vintage relics even from WWI!

One should keep in mind that most aircraft built after WWII were built from sheet aluminum riveted together. If it is not corroded, has been kept inside and well maintained, it’s probably still a good deal!  Remember, the engines and avionics have changed, but not much has changed in the airframes. All of these aircraft can be updated, even the ones with no modern cabin comfort and no heat!  For that matter, even the ones with no cabins!
 
I should know. I have a '79 Cessna 180, a '79 Cessna 206 and a virtually new '93 Beech F-33A!  All three of them give me the equivalent of new airplane performance! Unfortunately, I am no longer 24 years old. I do like to think, however, that I am still performing just like the airplanes.
 
Mel Dorr,
President, Dorr Aviation