This Kent State University flight school Cessna 172 RG would be eligible for this inspection program. Photo: Elizabeth Stapleton - OPShots Contributor
Cessna is launching one of the largest aging aircraft programs to be undertaken for a fleet of single-piston airplanes. The Wichita plane maker has developed a supplemental inspection program designed to stem concerns of possible corrosion and fatigue stress on its fleet of nearly 145,000 100- and 200-series single-engine aircraft produced between 1946 and 1986. The inspections are being added to service manuals for 200-series aircraft this month and for 100-series aircraft in April, the airframer says.
Compliance deadlines for the inspection program will be two years after the programs are release–December 2013 for the 200 series, and June 2014 for the 100 series.
“The supplemental inspection program we’ve developed is primarily a visual process aimed at supporting the continued airworthiness of aging airframes,” says Beth Gamble, Cessna’s principal engineer for airframe structures. “Corrosion and fatigue are inevitable, but with early detection and proper maintenance, severity and effects can be minimized.”
