Originally Posted by
baz76
Most flying schools use atleast 50-60 years old models of cessna 152/172. While they are maintained , they are still old and I am sure they do not check every bit of the structure.
There are flying schools around who use new / newer models, but this is a very price sensitive market. Where are you based?
The older models are well known, have an excellent safety record and have a ready supply of parts. If a problem is found, and it's believed that it may not be a one off, a fix will be applied to all the aircraft of that type, probably world wide. Since there are lots of these aircraft, major problems are all likely to have been found and fixed. For newer aircraft - many of the problems may not have been found yet...
The maintenance regime for all aircraft, but especially CofA ones used at flying schools, is detailed and very tightly controlled. Considerably more so than cars. I'm not an engineer - but every aspect of the structure will have been checked, in accordance with standard maintenance plans in a set schedule.
Its worth noting that aviation is an extremely risk averse industry. That's why we go through all those checks. The checking patterns that surgeons use in an operating room are derived from the checks that pilots use within airlines. The checks are there for a reason - but they shouldn't put you off. The same level of checks will be made in new aircraft as are made in old ones.
BTW - Cessna 152 was first delivered in 1977 making them a max 36 years old.