There are several basic things to know before buying an aircraft, and some less obvious areas too. Having asked the experts to highlight some of these in his previous article, Chris Kjelgaard continues with another five...
After establishing the need for aircraft buyers to pick the right broker, add the right experts to the acquisition team, set and maintain an adequate transaction timeline and meet the financier’s documentation needs, there are other things that should be known before proceeding to buy a business jet.
Did you miss Part 1 of this article? Find it here.
Duncan Aviation’s Sales and Acquisition Specialists Tim Barber and Leah Alexander, and OGARAJETS’ Head of Global Sales, Dustin Cordier share some more things buyers should be clear about...
1. Insist on a PPI and a Full Aircraft Logbook Review
During the height of the post-Covid sales boom, many first-time business aircraft buyers accepted sale terms which did not allow for any pre-purchase inspection of the aircraft and its maintenance records to be performed.
However, every responsible broker and aircraft technical inspector would never recommend that a buyer allow a seller to dictate this. If allowed, it effectively means the buyer is agreeing to buy an aircraft sight unseen without any knowledge of the aircraft’s condition.
At the very least, the buyer should insist that the technical inspector representing them in the purchase negotiations be given full access to the aircraft’s logbook, says Cordier.
The logbook contains the aircraft’s full maintenance history because it should contain full details of each fault found, repair performed and overhaul conducted on the aircraft, including – for US-registered aircraft – a copy of every FAA Form 337 recording major damage and repair.
For the seller to offer the buyer access only to the maintenance tracking software record for the aircraft is not sufficient. “Using maintenance tracking software for that review is like watching a movie version of the book,” Cordier says.
This article was originally published by AvBuyer's Chris Kjelgaard on April 23, 2024.
