The Best Used Airplanes, Jets and Aircraft For Sale

Guide to Buying a Used Airplane

January 2nd, 2008 Posted in Used Airplanes | Comments Off

The buyer should consider several factors before buying a used airplane

1. Buy or Rent/Borrow

The aviation clubs or private organizations can offer you an airplane for rent on any day you prefer. The price of an inexpensive plane with a grass tie down might even cost you less.

Besides the financial aspect there are other trade-offs to consider. With rentals you can fly different planes and you don’t have to worry about the maintenance. With ownership you almost always have access to your plane plus you can control maintenance and upkeep.

However owning a plane gives you the pride of ownership, flexibility in flight times, and increased control over upkeep. It is up to you to decide which option suits you best?

2. Is It Affordable

The costs of buying an airplane include:

  • A down payment
  • Interest on a loan
  • Insurance
  • Storage
  • The annual inspection
  • Regular maintenance
  • Taxes
  • Fuel

You can to consder how much can you afford?

Finance: If you borrow the money from a bank, calculate the down payment and monthly installments to be paid to the bank based on current interest rates. If you are buying the airplane with your own money, then estimate the rate of interest you would get if you had not bought the plane.

Insurance: The liability and Hull are the two types of insurance available for an airplane. The liability saves your assets against claims arising from an accident involving the use of your plane. This maybe a compulsary requirement in your state. Hull insurance covers physical damage to your aircraft and is often required by lending organizations. Insurance may range from $500 to $2,500 per year for a small, inexpensive plane depending on the options chosen.

Storage: The options for storage range from a grass tie down to heater hangers.

Tie downs are cheaper but hangars provide protection from sun, precipitation, wind and wreckage. With Tie downs grass spots you often have to install your own anchors. There are several choices in hangars – the most common is the T-hangar. Planes are arranged in rows facing in alternating directions. Some hangars are two walls with a roof, providing limited protection from wind and wreckage. Some are heated but these cost more. Some are chaotic cramming in as many aircraft as possible. An additional cost may be ‘hangar rash’ when the tips of the wings of one aircraft brush against another. Prices vary based on the type of facilities and the location. Grass tie downs might range from $75/ month in a rural setting to $250/month in a more metropolitan area. Closed hangars range from $150/month to $600/month and up for a small plane. Check with your local airstrip for more specific rates.

Operations& Maintenance: The fees and taxes of airplanes varies depending on the usage. The maintenance charges including the annual inspection and other yearly maintenance costs may range from $1300 to $2500 for a small plane.

The other expenses can be estimated at up to $300 per year.

3. Your Purpose

Your interest in acrobatics, sightseeing, fun flying, short trips, or cross-country trips will be an important factor when choosing the best type and model for you.

Before you start shopping, defining exactly what you needs  will be. This can in selecting the plane that is right for you. How many passengers will you typically carry? How far will you fly? How fast do you need to get there? What type of airstrips will you land on? Will you be flying in congested airspace? Are there certain styles such as antiques and classics that you find more appealing? How will your needs change over the next 3-6 years?

Types:

Jets or Propellers: Jets are much faster, but are more expensive to buy and Operate.

New or Used: Used planes cost less than new planes, but may have more mechanical problems. This does not mean that used planes are unsafe. The average general airplane is over 20 years old.

Homebuilt or Popular: Homebuilt are often faster, lighter and cost less to operate. If you build it yourself, there is a lot of work in assembling it. You will also need a place to put it together.

Classics and Antiques – Older planes have stylistic appeal and are popular at air shows. Classic usually refers to planes build between 1945 and 1955. Antique usually refers to planes build before 1945.

4. Type of Plane

After deciding the model and the price range of your plane you can then start searching.

The key features to inspect on a plane when you go to look at it are:

Performance: What is the range? Manufacturers calculate the maximum distance the plane can fly at 75% power without refueling. Will the plane be able to land at your local airport? Standard airports have 3000 to 4000 feet runways. Local strips may be smaller.

Cruise: How fast do you need to travel? Cruise speed is measured as the speed at 75% power, and is usually expressed in statute miles per hour.

Number of Seats: How many seats will you need? Most planes can effectively carry fewer passengers and luggage than the number of seats they have.

Seating Configuration: What is your seating preference, Tandem or Side-by-side? Tandem may be faster due to narrower configuration and may give the pilot more visibility and legroom.

Construction: Low wing planes generally have better flight visibility for flying in crowded airspace; High-wing airplanes may be better for sightseeing.

Landing gear: Which type of gear do you prefer, Conventional or Tricycle Gear Landing gear – Conventional is more rugged and may have lower wind resistance, however a tricycle gear is less complex and may have lower maintenance costs.

Age – How old is the plane? Will you easily be able to find replacement parts?

Physical condition – Look for rust, cracked paint, and worn parts.

Engine – Note the manufacturer and size. Continental and Lycoming are the most common, and therefore the least expensive to find replacement parts. Also consider fuel consumption. Will you easily and cheaply be able to fill up with the right kind of fuel?

Gross – What is the capacity of the plane? It’s measured as the allowable total weight of the plane, passengers and cargo.

Useful Load – Similar to gross, the useful load measures carrying capacity. It’s the gross weight minus the weight of the empty plane.

Cost – How much will it cost you every year? Include purchase costs, storage costs, maintenance costs, and flight costs.

Tips on Buying an Aircraft

January 1st, 2008 Posted in Used Airplanes | No Comments »

The common itch that every pilot gets during the first flight and regardless of how many physical exams are taken to keep the medical certificates up to date, the itch rarely leaves. Yes, it’s the itch to buy and own an airplane. The itch won’t be cured permanently but certain tasks make it less painful. No single injection of information can inoculate a person from possible dreadful reactions from the itch, but this information should give patients a direction toward relief from stress and the torment of buying. Sincere advise to you is don’t try to buy the airplane, if you have not yet dealt with airplanes.

Once you become ready to cure that ownership itch, you have a major decision to make: what kind of aircraft will you buy. Apart from 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 purchase for you.

Some questions to ask yourself:

  • What is my purpose of buying an airplane?
  • Will anyone be flying with me? If so, how many?
  • Can I maintain it? Are the spare parts readily available?
  • Which type of airplane would suit me best?

That last question is very crucial. Most of the accident statistics tells us, that accidents occurred due to low-performing pilots getting into high-performing planes. It is far better to trade up as your pilot skills and experience increase than to become an accident statistic. To be certain, try out different aircraft. Fly with friends. Talk with other pilots at the field from which you usually fly, and take a flight with them. Many pilots will welcome taking you along on a flight. Go to flight institutes where they have different aircraft and take check rides with instructors in various aircraft. Now that you have tapered it down, start your search for your dream aircraft.

Look first:

If you find something that looks and sounds like it is just waiting for you to travel to see it—or have the owner deliver it for your personal inspection—your buying chores are just beginning. The first thing you want to do is get a copy of the FAA Type Certificate for the aircraft that interests you. On the Internet get a copy from http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/. Here, you will find all the specifications about the aircraft—applicable engines, propellers, gross weight, empty weight, speeds, etc. This site also lets you know to what FAA regulation it was built. That’s important because the Type Certificate (TC) gives prominent information about service life and mandatory replacements. These certification rules will influence your maintenance costs.
Now that you have the basics out of the way you can settle in on the specifics. Be alert to advertising stunts. Let these claims be proven. Check the paperwork to be certain the aircraft is airworthy; that is, it meets its type design and all proper alterations and ADs are to specifications. The aircraft’s paperwork should contain a history of all major repairs and alterations.

If you are satisfied that these all in order, start thinking about examining the aircraft. Look at it critically as you approach it.

  • Is it sitting squarely on its gear?
  • Are antenna rising as they should?
  • Is the paint consistent and are the N numbers the same size and style on both sides?
  • Are the N numbers the same as you saw as you approached the aircraft?
  • Is the ownership listed on certificates properly?

No need to check all the features listed below, but prescribing as a safety measure:

  • Are the struts equally extended?
  • Any corrosion in wings?
  • Any rust or corrosion on the hinges of flaps?
  • Are the doors, Windows sealed properly to keep out water and noise?
  • Brakes. Wheels, Tires, Hydraulic struts are proper?
  • Elevators, Trim tabs, Rudder, Vertical stabilizers are fit well?
  • Propeller is on track?
  • ·Any fuel or oil leaks in engine?

Fly once:
When you satisfied with the visual inspection, get it to take into the air. If you haven’t dealt with the particular model or type, be safe and take an instructor with you. Some of the items to check once:

  • Is the engine easy or hard to start? Hard means some problems with electrical or fuel system.
  • Be sure that engine instruments are operating in correct range.
  • How the aircraft moves with your feet off the rudder pedals?
  • Any unusual shimmy in the nose gear?
  • How quickly the gear cycle and the indicator lights working
  • If retractable gear, how quickly does the gear cycle and are indicator lights working, If retractable gear is there?
  • Check the tum and bank indicator, If you need control to center the needle or ball, the aircraft properly is out of rig.
  • Are the radios Okay?
  • Check for oil leaks if any after landing.

If you satisfied with all you have seen and done, you are ready to negotiate.

Jet, Single Engine or Multi Engine?

December 31st, 2007 Posted in Used Airplanes | No Comments »

A jet engine is as the name states most commonly used in Jet planes. It works in accordance with Newton’s third law of motion. It is an engine that can discharge fluid and generate thrust. With every action there will be an equal and opposite reaction.
A jet engine on a plane can be of two types. Saying that would be like there can be two engines on a jet plance.

The engine on a jet plane can be used for reciprocating the rotary internal power of the internal combustion engines. Theis engine is light weight and streamlined so that it aids in the flight of the plane. The engine size is also small as large engines with too much surface area will create too much drag on the plane. Also the engine has to be powerful to overcome the weight of the plane and propel it in air. Also tThe engine should be more reliable as loosing power in a plane will cause disastrous results. The engine should be also easily repairable and easy to maintain so as to keep the costs down.

Some planes run on two engines. These planes are called multi- engine planes. These twin engine planes are mostly used for commercial aircrafts mostly. It is compulsory in some countries have commercial planes to be run on two engines and not just one.

The main advantage of having a multi engine plane is that it adds redundancy to the air craft so that the plane can stay in air for a longer period of time. Also it can descend more slowly which reduces the risk of accidents in planes even if one engine fails. However, an engine failure in a multi- engine plane can cause serious difficulties when the plane just takes offin handling when t and there is a failure in one of the engines due to the asymmetrical thrust especially when the plane just takes off.

In a survey it was considered that the fatal accident rate per house was more than triple in a multi- engine plane than a single- engine plane. However, this survey was not definite as the two planes did not fly under similar conditions.

Changing a single- engine plane to a multi- engine plane is not an easy task. The entire profile of the plane must be changed to match the requirements needed by the multi -engine planes.

The instrument rating of a single- engine is cheaper than that of a multi- engine aircraftplane . It is generally considered that a plane with a single turbine engine is safer than the plane with a multi- turbine engine. The reliability of the single turbine engine due to the advancement made in aerospace engineering has minimized the chances of engine malfunction on planes. Single- engine planes have a higher glide ratio than multi- engine planes. This is why they can land safely when there is an engine malfunction when compared to multi -engine planes.