A 1982 Cessna 172P flown daily in scheduled airline service in Belize has been retired with more than 30,000 hours on it. John Greif, CEO of Tropic Air, told AVweb in last Friday’s podcast interview that little remains of the original aircraft, which he says is still in good flying condition. He said he believes it’s the highest-time 172. Greif said he made the decision to retire the aircraft out of an “abundance of caution.” He said it’s being replaced with a new diesel-powered 172.
Greif said the retired aircraft will be sold as a flying aircraft but he believes it will ultimately be parted out. He said it’s a nice 172 to fly because it’s had a lot of weight taken out over the years, particularly the heating system, which, of course, is not needed in tropical Belize. The lack of heater might make its market potential limited. Greif said the aircraft regularly flew three to four flights a day involving 12 cycles and was a dependable member of his fleet.
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Click here for a podcast interview with John Greif.
