The Ultimate Guide to Buying an Airplane in 2024 (Full Webinar)

Buying an airplane has a lot of steps and shouldn't be approached lightly. So, I wanted to put together as much condensed info as I could in one place describing the process based on my own experience and also after interviewing my own aviation mentors and industry experts. With some effort, you can absolutely accomplish your dream of owning your very own airplane this year!

Video Chapters:
0:00 - What You’ll Get In This Video
0:40 - Do this first!
2:20 - Free Airplane Buying Roadmap
3:00 - Buying vs. Renting
7:35 - Budget for Owning
9:09 - Ownership Excel Model
11:30 - Choosing the “Right” Airplane
17:42 - Once You Know The Right Airplane
19:47 - A Warning About Listings
21:12 - Looking Through Listings
23:34 - Building a Comp Model
25:59 - Getting Your Ducks in a Row
29:15 - Pre-Purchase Inspection
31:36 - The Paperwork
32:57 - Maintenance as an Owner
37:52 - Keeping Good Logbooks
38:41 - The Airplane Buying System (Discount)

[countryfence]

Another tip for hangars: ask your local airport if all the hangars have airplanes in them. In my area, many of the hangars have classic cars, boats, etc in them. The airports rent them out to non-aircraft to keep the rent down. They usually also have a clause that airplanes have first priority, but the airports don't like to admit this because it means they have to be "the bad guy" and kick out a consistent renter that doesn't have a plane.

[shARyn]

Big difference between auto recall and AD ---> for cars, the Mfg pays for the change. for aircraft, the Owner pays for the change

[gregisflyingforfun]

You are so right about looking for a hangar, or at least getting on the waiting list for one, first! I got on a hangar waiting list at my local airport before I bought my airplane. I'm still on the waiting list there and I'll be doing my third annual this year. If you're even thinking about buying an airplane, then you need to start looking for a hangar NOW!!!

[MichaelGolpe]

One of the best airplane and flying channels- especially for a noob like me. Thank you, Charlie!!!

[gregoryrobinson]

As a current student You are the THANKS

[Davidlight-nt]

One more thing to consider when choosing an airplane: you must critically evaluate your experience and capabilities to ensure you do not buy something you are incapable of safely handling (too fast/too complex - simply too much plane). If that was mentioned, then consider this a second.

[MGMidget]

Excellent presentation. Very based and concise.

[steveconaway]

Great video that covers all the considerations involved in choosing and buying an airplane. I literally spent hundreds of hours researching the best model airplane for me. In the end, I decided the Mooney M20J was the best airplane for me. I secured financing and found a great, well equipped plane in North Carolina through Aircraft Merchants. I flew out there to look at it and liked what I saw. I ended up buying it in 2012. That became my “forever plane.” I spent the following 10 years fixing it up and getting it equipped just to my liking. You can’t customize a rental. My plane now has USB plugs for the front and back passengers, LEMO plugs all around, full two screen Dynon Skyview HDX, dual Avidyne 440s, IN and OUT ADS-B, new paint, new engine and I couldn’t be happier. The plane cruises at 153 knots TAS at 10.4 GPH. Airplane ownership has been one of the best things in my life. 792 more payments and she’ll be all mine.

[AJtex]

Great Video. On the decision process buying vs Renting, few more criteria's come to mind. 1- Safety: so many rentals are beat up, underequipped and have a bunch of Inop/squawks. Legal but still sketchy 2- Class, Type, model: not easy to find 6 seaters, high perfs, multis for rent at decent price or at all. Even in large cities like Houston, pretty tough. when you do, then back to your frequency criteria.

[bsdontop]

Was googling buying a plane and this popped on in YouTube the next day haha
Im looking to buy a cheap but reliable 2 seater for building time about 1500 hours

[quavovlogs]

Thanks for making this. Very selfless of you to put this amount of effort into something and make it free for us to learn from

[seamustheterrible]

Great, instructional video. Well delivered in a positive, professional and knowledgeable manner. Thanks.

[theflyer]

Great info! Thank you for such a comprehensive presentation.

[michael_viteritti]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing all the information :D

[itismylifesogoforit]

Looking to buy an airplane this year, thank you so much for sharing!

[ranjrog]

I bought my 172 in 2017 and have experienced about everything you mention so I am sure you have put together a wonderful resource. It is probably in the info for purchase but you didn’t mention in this presentation about excise tax depending on the state in which you live. In my case, excise tax slipped through the crack and I almost got caught paying substantial penalties. If not for a decent soul at the tax commission who was really great to work with, that would have been a costly error! Great job in putting together a comprehensive guide!

[jamesccook]

Thank you,
Great information and great presentation

[mountainbikeacademy]

Really solid video both from a I’m a human getting help from this and also editing, structure pace. Gw.

[matthewphilip]

Hey there Charlie, thanks for that Airplane Buying Roadmap. The excel spreadsheet is also super helpful for my budget.

[vracan]

got burned twice buying an airplane. My dream crushed by greedy/liar sellers and quack mechanics! Never again! Thank god for VR and msfs / dcs to satisfy my flying passion.