Originally Posted by
deltajuliet
Could be. Legit question - can an airframe in 121 ops fly in perpetuity if it gets heavy checks ad infinitum?
In theory yes, if the mfg continues to do the legwork to acquire regulatory extensions to cycle/time limits.
At some point the necessary repairs will get too expensive.
Although it looks like the USAF will operate the B-52 as a front-line combat aircraft for 100 years total. Of course they built them to last back then.