Tips On Buying an Airplane

There are tips on buying an Airplace,

might not be a cure for this malady but certain actions can be taken to make it less painful if you succumb to the urge. No single injection of information can inoculate a person from possible dreadful reactions from the itch, but this article should give patients a direction toward relief from stress and torment of buying.

First, don’t try to make the purchase by yourself unless you are a pilot, mechanic, accident investigator, federal regulation expert, type certificate authority, lawyer, and a few other occupational specialists rolled into one person. Get help, the pitfalls are too many.

The first decision

Once you have chosen to cure that ownership itch, you have a major decision to make: what kind of aircraft will you buy. Setting aside the financial considerations, deciding what to buy must be the first step. Just because you have trained or built most of your flying hours in a particular model or brand doesn’t mean that particular aircraft will be the best for your purchase. Some questions to ask yourself

That last question is vital. Many accident reports have been written about low-performance pilots getting into high-performance aircraft. It is far better to trade up as your pilot skills and experience increase than to become an accident statistic. The FAA has attempted to resolve some of these problems with regulations regarding complex aircraft and pressurized aircraft, but federal regulations will never be a substitute for common sense.

To be certain, try out different aircraft. Fly with friends. Talk with other pilots at the field from which you usually fly, and bum a ride with them. Many pilots will welcome taking you along on a flight. Go to flight schools where they have different aircraft and take check rides with instructors in various aircraft.

Once you have centered on the kind of airplane you want, narrow your search to that particular vehicle and get as much information as possible about it. Most aircraft at one time or another were written about in aviation publications  See what some of the editorial pilots had to say. Remember, however, their publications usually are seeking advertising from the manufacturer, so be wary of glowing accounts with no negatives. The Internet is a veritable mother lode of information. Log on to individual company web sites. Check the ones for machines of most interest to you. Go to a search engine and type in the aircraft name. You will find dozens, or even hundreds of sites that have information, available aircraft, parts availability, and some sites with comments by owners. Many owner clubs have web sites that can give much helpful guidance as to whether the particular aircraft is your cup of tea.