Tips for Selling Your Aircraft

Three things sell an aircraft: presentation, pricing, and paperwork. Get all three right and your airplane sells quickly at a strong number. Miss one and it sits — and a stale listing costs you real money.

Presentation

Buyers form an opinion in the first five photographs. Before you list:

• Have the aircraft professionally detailed inside and out, including the belly and gear wells.
• Fix the small annoyances: burned-out bulbs, torn placards, sticking latches, worn carpet.
• Shoot 30-plus high-resolution photos in even light, including panel, seats, engine compartment, and any known blemishes.
• Add a short walkaround video. It converts distant buyers into serious buyers.

Pricing

Price against actual closed comparable sales, not other asking prices. Adjust honestly for total time, engine and prop time since overhaul, avionics, damage history, paint and interior condition, and program enrollment.

Overpricing is the most expensive mistake in the process. An airplane that sits for six months eventually sells below where a correctly priced listing would have closed, and you paid carrying costs the entire time.

Paperwork

• Logbooks scanned and organized, with any gaps explained in writing.
• Airworthiness directive compliance list current and printed.
• All 337s, current weight and balance, and the equipment list on file.
• Title and lien status verified before you go to market, not during closing.

Prepare for the pre-buy

Assume a serious buyer will inspect thoroughly. Consider a pre-listing inspection so you learn about squawks first and can fix or disclose them on your terms. Surprises during a buyer's pre-buy are the number one reason deals fall apart.

Disclose everything

Damage history, prior repairs, and known squawks should be in the listing. Full disclosure filters out buyers who would walk later and builds the trust that gets a deal to closing.

Use escrow and a title company

Never take a wire directly. Escrow protects both sides, verifies the FAA registry, and makes closing a routine event instead of a negotiation.

Ready to list? We handle photography, pricing analysis, marketing, buyer screening, and closing from start to finish.