Airplanes can live such extraordinary lives; it seems that many will never die. Martha Lunken reminds us frequently that 70-year-old DC-3s are still flying and working for a living. The B-52 bombers are often twice the age of their pilots but the old Boeing flies on. And 50-year-old Bonanzas are not exactly rare.
The remarkable restorations we see every year at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, prove that an airplane’s life does not have to end because of old age. The number of flyable warbirds, all more than 60 years old, grows, not shrinks, every year. The same is true for other rare antique airplanes. But some airplanes do not enjoy such longevity. What is it that eventually kills off most airplanes while allowing a chosen few to fly on? The answer is a battle between economics and love of the airplane.
