dera,
Students - and qualified pilots - bend aircraft so they are beyond economic repair.
And then there are other incidents - like our hangar fire.
If no-one builds new "Cessnas", this discussion will become more than "moot".
And, for someone who operates light sport, I still have a fondness for the Cessna brand.
In my opinion, they are a "world" brand, not just an American one. Their market is worldwide, not just the USA. I think they have made a big mistake in this market sector with the Skycatcher.
Hopefully they have not just dumped it, they have also gone back to the drawing board.
ps. For fans of Nevil Shute, like Genghis and me, his biography and the discussion of whether or not Airspeed would introduce retractable undercarriage in the 1930s, is similar to where I think Cessna and its rivals are.
Shute states that one - now very well known designer - was totally against the extra weight and complexity of retractable gear. Full stop. Yet within a few years it was obvious that this was the only way ahead.
In every market, it is obvious that we need lower capital, lower running costs and generally increased efficiency.
Cessna are failing to delivery that for GA, and anyone who thinks that a 1950s airframe cannot be improved upon has missed out on an awful lot - including plastic Boeings! - and the use of unleaded fuel.