Maybe you aren’t flying anymore, or you inherited it, or some other circumstance, but you find yourself in possession of an out-of-annual aircraft you’d like to sell. Selling an out-of-annual aircraft is more complicated and much more time-consuming and expensive than a flying aircraft.

Why is that so? Out-of-Annual aircraft are classified by the FAA as “unairworthy”. They can not be flown except under special circumstances, and then only to a location where inspections and repairs can be made to make them “airworthy”.

Very few buyers will purchase an Out-of-Annual aircraft, but it’s what we do.  We purchase them “as-is, where-is”. Our goal is to keep these precious resources flying as long as possible.

In a real hurry, don’t want to deal with the maintenance/insurance/selling or have a difficult to sell aircraft — we can buy it directly!  Note that we will pay 20% or so less than market value for this service but will take the risk of buying the aircraft as-is and close in a short timeframe.

Ready to get started or have a question?  Contact us today!

What happens when an aircraft isn’t flown regularly

A non-flying aircraft deteriorates and loses value the longer it sits. Aircraft that are not flown at least monthly deteriorate over time. As soon as they are parked, the oil drains down to the sump leaving the engine interior as dry metal. As the temperature outside goes up and down through the dew point, water forms inside the airframe and engine causing cylinders, valves and camshafts to start to rust. Over time airframes, engines and radio button contacts corrode and rubber tires and hoses deteriorate.  Storage conditions, such as a heated hangar and/or weather and humidity in your area make a big difference. 

In general, the longer the aircraft sits without flying, the more will need to be repaired. In addition, there are ongoing costs of ownership such as hangar or tie down fees and insurance fees.

So, the sooner you sell, the better off you and the aircraft will be.

The process to sell your Out-of-Annual aircraft

Knowledge is power. Whether you decide to take a “Do It Yourself” approach or sell to us, understanding the process to get your aircraft airworthy and sold will help you understand the value of your aircraft in it’s current state.

Steps to sell your aircraft to Hangar50, 1-2-3:

1. Let us know you are interested. Send us an email by filling out this form. Please tell us what you know about the aircraft, such as type or year, as well as where it is located.
2. We’ll come and look at the aircraft and make you an offer. We’ll fly out and do a few hour inspection of the aircraft. If the aircraft is in running condition, we’ll start the engine on the ground, but will not fly it. If we believe we can get the aircraft into flying condition, we’ll make you a formal, written offer to purchase the aircraft.
3. You cash the check.

Ready to get started or have a question?  Contact us today!

What we do after purchasing your aircraft – OR – Steps to sell your aircraft yourself:

The table below gives an idea of the process we go through after purchasing your aircraft to get it flyable and sold to a new owner.  Note this process is both time consuming and expensive!  In today’s environment, it can take months just to get on a shop’s schedule for an Annual Inspection (our last sale of N32831 literally took 4 months to schedule the annual with the local A&P) and more months to wait for out of stock expensive parts and labor.

We provide this information both as a service for aircraft owners who want to try a DIY approach, as well as to explain / assure our customers we are adding significant value to the process.

Phase 1 – Get aircraft legal to fly

1.1 – Schedule an Annual Inspection with a qualified A&P.

1.2 – Arrange insurance and a qualified transport pilot that meets insurance requirements. Before flying it, we also need to arrange and pay for insurance, including naming a qualified pilot and may need to arrange a ferry permit.

1.3 – Arrange ferry permit from FAA if aircraft not at location of mechanic. Transport aircraft to annual.

1.4 – Direct mechanics during annual using our expertise/tools to reduce expenses and increase aircraft value.

1.5 – Pay for annual and related repairs. For a simple aircraft like a Cessna 172, the inspections required might be about $1000 if absolutely nothing is found to need repairs, which is highly unlikely for an “out-of-annual” aircraft.  Repairs might range from something small like a new tire about $100 to one or more new cylinders at $3000 each to a new engine at $25,000 or more. There is no such thing as typical!  In general, the longer the aircraft sat without flying, the more will need to be repaired.  Over time airframes, engines and radio button contacts corrode and rubber tires and hoses deteriorate.  Storage conditions, such as a heated hangar and/or weather and humidity in your area make a big difference. We take the risk of these costs so you don’t have to.

1.6 – Schedule other inspections. To be airworthy, your aircraft needs 4 inspections besides the Annual: Pitot Static, Altimeter, Transponder, ELT. These are typically done at a different, more specialized facility than the Annual.

1.7 – Transport aircraft for other inspections (typically not same as annual shop).

Phase 2 – Get the aircraft ready to sell

2.1 – Fly the plane 10 – 25 hours to verify  airworthiness. Once it’s fresh out of inspections, buyers will be concerned about it’s condition given the time it’s been idle. Flying it through an oil change period or so without issue will provide some confidence in it’s continued airworthiness, and increase it’s value. This needs to be done with a pilot who meets insurance company requirements.

2.2 – Document airworthy conditions using our expertise/tools to increase aircraft value. Hangar50 has specialized tools to document it’s condition both before and after this flight time.

Phase 3 – Market the aircraft

3.1 – Develop marketing strategy: asking price, where best to sell, online, local bulletin boards, type specific forums, … You want to reach buyers both with well-written paid advertising, good pictures and documentation including online logbooks and also know how to reach buyers specifically looking for your make / model aircraft.

3.2 – Prepare photography and specification portfolio, including digitizing the logbooks.

3.3 – Advertising: Create accounts online, design ads, make print ads for local, place ads.

3.4 – Field questions from interested parties.We often need to deal with “lookie-loos” to answer questions about the plane and it’s history who don’t have the interest or means to buy the aircraft. Non-interested parties and people who just want info or want to complain about the price or wording of the ad (don’t underestimate the time spent on this, in today’s online world, people like to be heard, even those with nothing to say!)

3.5 – Negotiations with buyers: answering questions, arranging viewings, arranging demo flights, price and term discussions. Interested parties will have lots of questions and want to arrange a viewing and demo flight.

3.6 – Demo flights. Arrange demo flights with qualified pilot to show aircraft to potential buyers.

Phase 4 – Sell the aircraft.  Really interested buyers will want to arrange for a pre-buy inspection by a qualified mechanic. The terms of the purchase need to be documented in an official Offer-To-Purchase, a legal document defining what the seller and buyer are each responsible for. The processing of paperwork and transfer of funds should be through a 3rd party, such as a title insurance company. Aircraft sales are filed with the FAA in Oklahoma City.

4.1 – Pre-purchase management: preparation of Offer to Purchase (a legal document), arrange pre-purchase inspection, transport aircraft to/from pre-purchase inspection.

4.2 – Direct mechanic during pre-purchase annual using our expertise/tools to reduce expenses and increase aircraft value

4.3 – Close the sale – Escrow Management,  Title Transfer, Bill of Sale, FAA paperwork – verify monies are securely transferred and all paperwork completed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready to get started or have a question?  Contact us today!