I read about the pilots who are indignant that they might be offered a worn out old plane to fly, and how it should be maintained to a very high standard. And, I read about how scary the prospect of subjecting these old aircraft to additional inspections. And then finally, the panacea of the non certified aircraft as the economical escape route to fly without the regulatory or inspection burden.
Let's remind ourselves that it costs money to be airborne, some ways more than others. Cessna are expert in knowing how to provide a safe means of being airborne, if you do it their way (or equivalently well). Aircraft of other manufacture, and particularly non certified, can be very much more variable and less certain.
Some people think that older planes should be retired. Those people are very welcome to pay the cost to fly in very new aircraft only, those planes are available too. They just have higher cost of use due to their higher value. If that's your choice, no problem, pay the cost, fly in an aircraft whose "bugs" may yet to be found, and don't complain!
Cessna has now defined a retirement "age" for their aircraft - 30,000 hours (for what I have briefly read). Sounds very fair and appropriate to me. I have 24,000 hours to go on my 150, and that'll keep me fine! A Cessna 207 I used to fly had 19,700 hours, and seemed very airworthy, I oversaw a comprehensive inspection, and nothing was really wrong with the structure or systems (Paint and furnishings were ratty). It had been well maintained. The 1977 C152 I did my fist solo in, had 33 hours when I did that (in 1977). It was retired from the flying club decades later with more than 14,500 hours, and still flies privately today. Presuming up to date maintenance, I would not be the least "uncomfortable" to fly that plane.
Yes, some poorly maintained Cessnas are going to be "found out" by these inspections - that's the whole point! Such aircraft are probably headed toward a very justified retirement. If the owner has maintained the aircraft well throughout, there is little to be worried about here.
And, when renters are presented with "old" Cessnas, which are right up to date with all of these new inspections, will they relax, have confidence in the quality of the aircraft, and become less "uncomfortable"?
Some of this reminds me of the people who complain about the poor condition of the road, then complain about the cost and traffic delays to repair it!
Then, we have the non certified proponents, whose subtle message is that it costs less to correctly maintain a non certified aircraft. Well, perhaps this could appear to be, simply because of the much lower utilization compared to the Cessnas, and lack of the cost of OEM support. If these non certified aircraft were operating in a commercial role, getting flown, blown and hammered, I dare say that it would rapidly become more expensive to maintain to the non "old" standard of quality expected by the renter. And, when that non certified aircraft needs replacement parts 50 years after it was manufactured, will the manufacturer still make parts available for it? Cessna does!
We either want to fly well maintained aircraft, and are prepared to pay the cost, or, we will fly unknown quality aircraft, and not complain....