Start Your Aircraft Financing Journey with a Pre-Approval—No Aircraft Contract Needed

Q: I am considering buying my first aircraft and am at the beginning of this process. Do I need to have an aircraft under contract to start the financing process, or can I start the pre-approval process?

A: That’s a great question. No, you do not have to have an aircraft under contract to start the financing process. In fact, we recommend having a pre-approval in place prior to shopping, as you might with a home purchase.  You will be able to indicate on the application the range (age, make/model, and price) of aircraft you are interested in. The pre-approval process includes full financial underwriting. Once you identify an aircraft to proceed with, you will simply need to submit the aircraft specifications for collateral approval. Once approved, your rate will be locked for 30 days, and the approval is good for 90 days.

Since you are new to this process, we would also like to recommend that you review the First Time Buyer page on our website: https://finance.aopa.org/aviation-finance/first-time-buyers.

Please give us a call, 800.627.5263. We would be happy to walk you through the process and answer any other questions you may have.