I came back to flying in 2019, and I’ve been flying since. I'm closing in on 300 hours now. I'm living the dream.
I purchased a 1972 Grumman Traveler, my first airplane. I absolutely love it. I learned on a brand-new Grumman Traveler back in 1976. When I came out of retirement in 2019, I joined the Booneville Flying Club, but I really needed an airplane to do some cross-country flying. So that's why I bought it.
My wife is caring for her elderly mother, an eight-hour drive from our home here in Missouri. I’d kind of like to continue having a good relationship with my wife, so I use my plane as my car whenever the weather is good to travel to her.
I’d heard that airplane loans were hard to get, so I contacted AOPA in February 2023. I wanted to do a pre-authorization to see if I was qualified. I worked with Caroline Childs, who was awesome. She walked me through the process and provided me with all the financial documents and forms.
I had a 30-day lock, and of course, the typical 90-day window for the loan approval, but I didn't yet have an airplane. I found a ‘74 Grumman Traveler down in Florida, which I thought looked good in the pictures. I called the owner and started looking at the books. They quickly scared me because they showed it’d been 20-25 years since the engine overhaul. I wanted a pre-buy inspection. The owner balked, so I got out of that deal. That caused my 90-day approval window to close.
Luckily an A&P at True Flight heard about me. He told me he was completing a rebuild of a Grumman Traveler. I saw the pictures and had a really good feeling. But he had a rule that the engine had to be flown 20 to 25 hours as the break-in period before he’d sell the plane.
I went back to Caroline at AOPA Finance and asked her to update my paperwork and open another 90-day window. AOPA then put me in touch with the title company, Aerospace Reports. When the title search went through, they found an old lien on the plane, Aerospace Reports handled it quickly and easily.
Caroline and AOPA Finance made sure I got all my paperwork in order, and they put me in contact with Assured Partners to get the insurance. Everything worked out just super well. The plane became mine in early December 2023. The whole process, once the plane was ready, probably took less than six weeks.
The AOPA Finance Portal was awesome. You can sign electronically so you don’t have to go into the office. It's just an awesome way to do business. It worked out really well.
AOPA walked me through the process and held my hand the whole way. It was more fear of the unknown that was holding me back from buying sooner. If you think you can afford a plane, and you read what they say in their literature about what it takes to own a plane, and you qualify, go for it. It's a dream. Live it. I would absolutely do it again.
Great advice. Great rates. Helpful and responsive reps you can trust. Three good reasons to turn to AOPA Aviation Finance when you are buying or refinancing an airplane. If you need a dependable source of financing with people who are on your side, just call 800.62.PLANE (800.627.5263), or click here to request a quote.
