A really good sign is when there’s a link to digital copies of all the logbooks in the listing. That means you, and your mechanic, can do a logbook review from home.
If the listing has missing or incomplete information, that’s a red flag. A standard aviation listing should include the following minimum items: aircraft make and model, serial number, “N” number and year of manufacture. It should also include total time on airframe (TTAF). A listing needs to include information about the engine, including its make and model, and how much time since major overhaul (TSMOH) or time since new (TSNEW).
Engine manufacturers typically have a recommendation for time between overhaul (TBO). Depending on how the aircraft will be used (i.e. commercially or privately), the FAA may have something to say about that as well. For lenders, how close an engine is to TBO will impact the requirements for financing. As an engine approaches its recommended overhaul time, there is an increasingly negative impact on the value of the aircraft, and the more likely it is to need overhaul or replacement during the loan term. For aircraft with engines approaching TBO, lenders may require additional liquidity on hand, or an overhaul along with the purchase.
Standard listings also include all avionics equipment, and when known, the installation date of each. Lenders are looking more and more closely at the installation date of any item that has depreciable value.
Other red flags include an engine that may have only a few hours since overhaul but was overhauled 15 or 20 years ago. There’s an old aviation saying, “An engine that sits is an engine that rots.” In other words, an engine that has 500 hours on an overhaul done 20 years ago may be just as likely to need an overhaul as one that is only 3 years old but at TBO. In fact, some lenders require any engine without an overhaul in 20 or more years to be overhauled.
If a listing shows time since top overhaul (TSTOH), beware. A top overhaul does not reset the clock on the engine, which means it doesn’t add any value from a financing perspective.
High resolution, good quality, recent pictures matter far more than any seller-assessed numerical value assigned to the exterior or interior. And phrases like “pride of ownership” or “fair, good, poor,” like beauty, are based upon the eye of the beholder, making them irrelevant.
Lastly, beware if NDH (no damage history) is absent from the listing or, conversely, if the phrase “no known damage history” or “____damage history but professionally repaired” is present. Big red flags. Significant damage often results in an FAA or NTSB report, and searchable databases are available online for those looking to confirm any damage history on a particular aircraft.
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.
