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Are older airplanes, such as a Spitfure, less safe/reliable than newly built aircraft?

If so, how are they still considered airworthy if they are not up to scratch?

I would have assumed that new technology and materials would have set a benchmark, which would make old aircraft deemed unsafe to fly?

Are you suggesting we ground every aeroplane that doesn't meet today's safety requirements?

Maybe ban all old cars if they can't meet current crash safety requirements?

Sooty25 wrote:Are you suggesting we ground every aeroplane that doesn't meet today's safety requirements?

Will that include commercial airliners as well, that would cause havoc with some carriers.

Most are as safe as they ever were, if not safer. Obviously not as safe as a Cirrus

A properly mantained classic aircraft will be at least as safe as the day it left the factory, perhaps even safer, with each overhaul modern materials will have been used and most of the AD's required will have been identified and complied with.

A le Ron wrote:.......Obviously not as safe as a Cirrus

Don't start that again!

Quanta Mechanic wrote:Are older airplanes, such as a Spitfure, less safe/reliable than newly built aircraft?

If so, how are they still considered airworthy if they are not up to scratch?

I would have assumed that new technology and materials would have set a benchmark, which would make old aircraft deemed unsafe to fly?

Are you trolling?

With older aircraft, issues will have been found and mitigated via procedures, scheduled maintenance or design changes.
New aircraft havn't had time for people to find out all the issues with them yet, although the original designs will have been made using knowledge gained from older designs.

So older designs might be more challenging to fly, therefore require more pilot experience, discipline and instruction, but aren't neccessarily less safe. They may have a more complex structure so require more maintenance. Newer aircraft may fly more efficiently.

In everything there is a risk. What is your definition of "safe"?
You are more likely to die in a car crash on the way to a commercial flight than on the flight itself, but you're still going to drive there and consider that drive safe!

So older aircraft flight is safe. It just may have a slightly larger risk than newer aircraft. An aircraft just off maintenance is at higher risk than just about to go in for routine maintenance but we are still going to do the maintenance.

Depends on what they're made for.

A Spitfire isn't going to carry 130 people back and fore to Ibiza day in, day out, without some maintenance problems. An A320 isn't going to survive long when pulling 6g in an inverted dive going after a BF109.

Also you may find there's very little "old" in some flying Spitfires!

If you're talking GA aeroplanes, it's generally not the aeroplanes which are unsafe, it's the pilots who fly them.

Robin500 wrote: Are you trolling?

He or she is. User profile: https://forums.flyer.co.uk/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=21593

Either that or a spotty 14-year old.

Rob L wrote:Either that or a spotty 14-year old.

My bet is that’s it’s Margory having a larf.

GolfHotel wrote: My bet is that’s it’s Margory having a larf.

Did someone say "Loaf"?

To be fair, I don't know Marjorie well enough to know if he would create yet another username on here.

It’s not Marj, I can assure you of that.

I was about to say, "not you but'er" and was reminded of that old advert "marge, really?" "see, most people cant tell Talk from Mutter "