Thinking about buying an aircraft? Want to know more about the value of a pre-purchase inspection or perhaps which maintenance facility makes the best sense? Knowing “what to expect” during the process and defining what “owning” an aircraft really means, is key to a much more enjoyable aircraft ownership experience. 

In February 2022 Andy Wilson and Phil Stearns of Stevens Aerospace sat down with Chip McClure, President and founder of Jet Acquisitions, to discuss aircraft ownership, management, and the state of the industry in our current climate. As one of America’s few acquisition consultants working exclusively with turbine-powered and business jet aircraft buyers, Chip brings a wealth of knowledge and insight about trends in our industry. To give some context of what was happening in the market at that time, this was taped on the backside of a 2-year economy shaped by a worldwide pandemic. The situation had an extraordinary effect on everything causing labor and inventory shortages with costs across the board running crazy. This produced a narrative that weaved its way through the conversions as prices for aircraft continued to rise, inventory became scarce, all coupled with a significant number of new buyers that came to the market over the last couple years. These never before seen issues caused the three of us to agree that the need for sharing of this type of information was critical.

The event was all taped in Chip’s podcast studio in his Franklin, TN corporate headquarters. Our goal was to give not only perspective to first-time owners entering the market, but also give current aircraft owners and operators some down-to-earth real-life information about “what to expect” as navigate through the process. We wanted to do this in a way where people watching could pick and choose by subject and get some good data in a few minutes and not get tied into a much longer seminar. What you will see is just three guys talking about things they are passionate about, and it really shows. No PowerPoints, no pie charts, and nothing flashy. As a matter of fact, the only thing flashy in that room were the camera lights so you could see us better, and those Jet Acquisition Yeti bottles which are still looking sharp on my desk.

Let’s dig in a little deeper. Let me tell you what you can expect and what you’re about to see. 

The first video of the series was kicked off by Andy tossing out a question about how buyers have changed or evolved over the last couple of years. The transaction and buyer habits had obviously changed with the current conditions of our world, and so did the availability of aircraft. With these changes happening so quickly and causing some sort of “controlled chaos” in our industry, it forced us all to accommodate to these new ways of business.

Chip references this scenario as “market price vs. stupid price” in his discussions about the last couple of years. Great insight here with some unexpected data points giving direction on how to navigate through this and get to the other side in one piece.

What about doing a pre-purchase (pre-buy) evaluation? Should I do it, or not? And why, or why not? What’s involved? Well, all of that can be summed up in two very clear and concise words: it depends. And by that, we mean:

• How old is the aircraft?
• What type of aircraft is it?
• Where was it serviced last, and when, and by who, and what got done?
• Are the logbooks in great shape or missing several years of data, or in a language not common to where you will operate the aircraft?
• Do you use the same shop from the previous owner or your own favorite shop?
• Does your favorite shop know this airframe back and forth?
• Can you get it into a shop before you want to close on the plane?
• And the questions just keep coming……

We discuss these topics in our series, in fact there are several videos dedicated to pre-purchase evaluations to help get you through what can be a tiring process. Starting with how long it should take, expectations of communications during the event, expediting the process, and how to balance your overall expectations to not get whiplash when the final price is presented to you from the shop.

Now that you’ve decided to jump in and get a plane, now, which one? Well, let’s go back to our two favorite words: it depends. And again, by that we mean:

• Where do you live and where do you need to go?
• What’s your budget?
• What are your choices in service facilities within a reasonable distance?
• Are you flying this or are you sitting in the VIP seat in the back?
• Is it just you flying, or the entire family and a dog on board?
• Do you already have a hangar, or hangar space reserved?
• What about insurance?
• What about your tax situation?

Clearly there are tons more questions, but a dedicated acquisition agent or aircraft broker with whom you have a great relationship with will walk you through all those questions. They will do this to fully understand your needs, desires, and future direction to get you in to an aircraft that fits you – and not just sell you an airplane. Sometimes the answer is to wait on the right airplane and not jump quickly into paying “stupid price” for a plane that doesn’t even fit your needs. Sometimes charter makes more sense or having an owner-partner; it simply all depends on your needs and mission. 

What about the series of King Airs or Citation Jets? Chip has spent decades understanding and specializing in these aircraft, so we turned the cameras on, pointed them toward him, and let him go at it. We ended up with a few “bonus videos” where we modified the “what to expect” theme to give you a more “what you need to know” viewpoint. There is some outstanding historical and real-world insight about these aircraft contained here along with some useful information you should know about maintaining and operating these aircraft or when approaching a pre-purchase event. 

Lastly, we took a little time to talk about “who is Jet Acquisitions” and “who is Stevens Aerospace” – the two companies that brought you all this great insight and information. But not really about all the facts and data about both companies, but more so what is “nearest and dearest” to our hearts. This is an extraordinary industry, packed with amazing people, and we are lucky to be a part of it. In the end, meaningful and trusted relationships are earned overtime. We fully understand that it’s all about real humans and their families on these planes and none of us take that lightly.

We hope this series can shed light and give insight into your world, whether you’ve been flying for years or if you’re thinking about becoming a first-time aircraft owner/operator.

If you’re interested in diving more into this series, you can find the whole series here: https://www.stevensaerospace.com/buying-an-aircraft/what-to-expect-when-youre-buying-an-aircraft/

Thank you for digging in and we hope you get something out of it – like we did.