In this episode of Aviation Consumer Live, Aviation Consumer’s Larry Anglisano and Rick Durden talk about some recent reports (and some older ones, too) they studied in the Used Aircraft Guide and offer some tips on what you should and shouldn’t do if you break an aircraft.

Want more? Look for the Stupid Pilot Tricks annual feature in the January 2024 issue of sister publication IFR Magazine.

Editor’s Note: This video was produced by Aviation Consumer magazine.

The post Used Aircraft Guide Live: Wrecks Revisited appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Yes, I am talking about insurance renewal. 

As our first year wound down, I was thinking more about annual inspection, our hangar lease, and database updates for Annie’s instruments than dealing with insurance. I knew renewal time was coming up, but after a good year with nearly 100 flight hours and no insurance claims or other mishaps, I was not expecting trouble.

• READ MORE: The Shortest Year: It’s Time for Your Ideal Aircraft’s Annual Inspection

Perhaps I should have braced myself after my insurer sent a letter a couple of months before my term was up to let me know it might or might not renew my insurance. I think the note’s main purpose was to make sure I was not expecting an automatic renewal without having to file a new application. It all seemed reasonable, but I could have used a bit more warmth.

The initial quote for renewal was disappointingly high but decreased considerably once I updated my flying time. So far the terms for a second year of insured flying were agreeable. Then the phone rang. It was my insurance agent with one of those “oh, by the way” comments that you do not want to hear.

He told me the underwriters would not cover Annie at the same hull value as last year. This year’s figure would be 26 percent less. It had been a long week. My heart sank, my scalp began to sweat, and I had to fight back a profane tirade that would not have helped at all. At least there was some comic relief. When I got the call, I had just boarded a commercial flight. We were sitting at the gate, and I knew the cabin crew would soon close the door. From the middle seat I had neither the time nor space to mount a counterattack.

• READ MORE: Make Time for Long Solos in Your Ideal Aircraft

Another funny thing: I have followed the used aircraft market closely for more than a decade, and these days work requires even deeper immersion in a range of market trends. The revised hull value means that if anything terrible happens to Annie, I might be able to replace her with what? A Piper Arrow? I recently spotted a 1975 Cessna 172 like the one I soloed in that is for sale at the price the insurer slapped on Annie. Nothing against the dedicated Arrow and Skyhawk drivers out there, but I am truly peeved. The market has soared in recent years, and I do not think it is ever going back to 2010 levels. I feel like I would have to travel at least that far back in time to make the latest insurance numbers work. Why am I getting zero lift from this rising tide?

After talking with friends about this, I realize I am not alone, and owning an “orphan” airplane like the Commander does not help. Nor does shopping around, as I keep encountering the same numbers anyway. More than one broker told me I would be better off with my current insurer since I already have a “relationship” there.

I sensed a hint of “pipe down and pay up” in that advice. Perhaps I will take it. After all, you really are not allowed to complain about owning an airplane.

The post Insuring Your Ideal Aircraft: Bracing for the Ups and Downs appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Because I spend a lot of time perusing the used market on Aircraft For Sale I have a strong sense of the interesting makes and models looking for new homes. From nearly new four-seat family aircraft to rare antiques and warbirds, the general aviation inventory truly has something for everyone in terms of size, performance, utility, and style.

• READ MORE: The Shortest Year: It’s Time for Your Ideal Aircraft’s Annual Inspection

After a year I have no desire to give up Annie, our Commander 114B, for some larger, faster, or otherwise more ambitious airplane. Heck, she and I are still getting to know each other, and so far all of the indicators are resoundingly positive. She’s a catch. Still, there is so much appealing hardware out there that I cannot resist looking. I could attribute this seeming infidelity to the demands of work, but I was a serial airplane shopper since long before joining the FLYING staff.

I recall that many years ago my wife and kids would make jokes when they caught me with my nose buried in classified ads for airplanes. We were far from being in the market back then, and the photos and descriptions in the ads were the stuff of dreams, and perhaps wasted time. Today, though, as I look for aircraft to feature in our AircraftForSale Top Picks, I often focus on aircraft I would want most to fly.

• READ MORE: Remember the Importance of Keeping Your Ideal Aircraft Clean

Recently there was a 1984 Piper PA-31P-350 Mojave that I found almost irresistible. Wouldn’t it be great to own a mighty pressurized twin with cabin space and useful load to spare? Perhaps, but I would need to earn a multiengine rating and start building time. Operating the Piper from the 2,100-foot field near our favorite vacation spot on Deer Isle, Maine, might prove challenging, too. I was also drawn to a 1975 Cessna A185F on amphibious floats. That would make more sense in Maine, where I could park it at the dock next to our neighbors’ lobster boats. Then again, the salt water would not do us any favors. I might be overreaching.

Our best window-shopping excursion took place before Annie’s annual, when my wife and I checked out a Diamond DA50 RG at Reno/Stead Airport (KRTS) in September. Company representatives were showing off the new aircraft and happily answered our questions. After a walk-around and tour of the cabin, we concluded this might be the ideal pick for people on a new-airplane budget (not us). Compared with Annie, the Diamond has quite a bit more power, speed, and cabin space. Getting in and out is easier as well with the Diamond’s four upward-opening doors. It is more like a car in all of the right ways.

I couldn’t stop talking about the Diamond on the flight home from Reno, and the topic came up again recently as we looked at Annie’s empty hangar. “I wonder if the Diamond would fit in there?” I said.

My wife was doubtful. “Too much wingspan,” she said. So I reached for the tape measure. Our hangar door is 40 feet wide. The DA50 RG’s wing? About 44 feet long. Not even close. We will stick with Annie. And I probably owe her an apology.  

The post Window Shopping Can Be Antidote for Annual Inspection Blues appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Conversely, when searching for a four-place airplane with a decent cruise speed, good useful load, capable of getting into and out of a wide variety of strips, and straightforward ownership and maintenance, one must get in line and prepare for painful asking prices. This was the conundrum faced by my friend Matt recently. His mission was all too common— take one or two friends on one- to three-hour trips, occasionally to grass strips, without having to deal with overly burdensome searching for parts or qualified maintenance.

Such airplanes exist, but as Matt soon learned, the popularity of this recipe makes it a particularly valuable one. He naturally zeroed in on the Cessna 182, as it does just about everything pretty well, and came away stunned at the asking prices. Indeed, a quick survey of the many examples listed on Trade-A-Plane reveals a median asking price of $160,000—and that’s excluding the second-generation 182s produced from 1997 onward.

• READ MORE: Traveling on the Cheap: Older, Odd, and Unloved Aircraft Can Be Bargains

To help Matt with his conundrum, I turned to a recommendation I commonly make—the oft-forgotten Cessna 175 Skylark. With a short, five-year production run from 1958-62, just more than 2,100 examples were built. This compares to more than 44,000 172s and more than 23,000 182s. 

Essentially a 172 with a different engine, the 175 came in two varieties—the early version with a straight, vertical stabilizer and a later version with a swept one. All have the “fastback,” lacking rear windows, and all were built with fixed landing gear. On the ramp, the only visual difference between a 172 and 175 is a slightly different cowl or a visible gearbox nested inside the main air intake. 

The 175 hp Continental GO-300 engine is the key differentiator. At its core, it’s the same 300-cubic-inch, 6-cylinder as the basic 145 hp C-145 or O-300. But as the “G” suggests, it’s a geared version of those engines and makes the additional horsepower by turning at a higher rpm.

The general consensus is that the GO-300 is a decent engine but that it comes with some concerns. For example, those who don’t operate it by the book tend to experience maintenance issues. But even if you treat it properly, parts are increasingly difficult to source, and an ever-shrinking number of shops are even willing to overhaul it. The relatively low, 1,200-hour time before overhaul (TBO) is also a concern.

So what makes the Cessna 175 an airplane I recommend to my friends? Do I take joy in setting up my buddies with problematic engines that drain their bank accounts before my eyes? Is this the kind of friend I am?

Certainly not. While I have indeed been known to orchestrate some truly legendary pranks in my college days, I’d never knowingly set up anyone for failure. Here, then, are three reasons I commonly recommend the 175 to prospective, first-time airplane owners:

1) An upgraded engine transforms the 175 into a budget 182.

I once belonged to a flying club that had a 172M with a 180 hp Lycoming O-360, and it was an absolute beast. The additional horsepower resulted in shockingly short takeoff rolls, and the climb rates that followed transformed many departure-end obstacles into laughable curiosities. One summer, two friends and I loaded a week’s worth of camping gear into the back and set off for Oshkosh, filled to the brim and just below maximum takeoff weight. The Super 172 performed brilliantly, demonstrating that 180 hp is what the 172 airframe should have come with from the beginning.

Fortunately, multiple engine STCs exist for the 175, and the 180 hp Lycoming O-360 is one of them. Find one with this engine, and you’ll have a wonderfully capable airplane, simultaneously a high-performance 172 and budget 182. It will do everything reasonably well with none of the downsides of a 175 with the original GO-300 engine.

Alternatively, one can purchase a 175 with the stock engine, fly it for several years while putting money aside for a future engine upgrade, and then do that in lieu of an overhaul. The existing GO-300 and propeller won’t command much when sold second hand, but they will take a chunk out of the total upgrade cost. For those of us with modest cash flow, this option might be the best way to get into a decent airplane that has the option to be upgraded to a truly great one.

2) A 180 hp 175 is well-balanced in multiple ways.

Generally, bigger engines provide more power and higher performance. But beyond a certain point, any vehicle will be hindered by the larger engine in terms of overall balance. Like a Mazda Miata with a V-8 shoehorned into the engine compartment, an airplane with an overly large powerplant might lose some of its best handling qualities. 

Such is the case with the 175’s Continental O-470 STC. Sure, it provides 230 hp, but owners report a terribly nose-heavy aircraft with a CG right at the forward edge of the envelope and correspondingly heavy and difficult flare, particularly at higher flap settings. Additionally, the big engine has six cylinders to care for and comes with notably increased fuel burn. Like the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the middle, 180 hp mama bear provides an ideal balance of qualities beyond horsepower.

3) Nobody remembers to search for 175s.

With apologies for any added exposure this article might provide to the aircraft shopping community, one of the best things about the 175 is its obscurity and anonymity. When performing their daily (or hourly) sweep of listings at Aircraft For Sale, most shoppers navigate directly to the 172 or 182 listings without even thinking to search for 175s. To be fair, pickings are slim (though there are some to be found). As mentioned, only 2,100 were built, and 896 remain active on the FAA registry.

But an occasional browse through the listings sometimes reveals hidden treasures. Over the past year, I’ve spotted 180 hp 175s listed for well below the asking prices of 180 hp 172s and certainly 182s. Even if the Skylarks in hiding are presented with the same pricing, there’s a good chance you can find some outstanding, undiscovered examples. This can be your ticket to scoring a great airplane for a fair price in the cutthroat shopping environment.

The post The Advantages of Shopping for Unusual Aircraft appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Currently, Sky Allies Capital offers loans for new and used aircraft, avionics upgrades, engine overhauls, fleet equipment, flight simulators, and more. Sky Allies has a network of more than 100 financial institutions, offering financing solutions for nearly every type of aircraft or equipment in the market. FLYING Financial will continue current Sky Allies Capital programs, as well as create a portfolio of loan and payment solutions built for aircraft owners, pilots, OEMs, dealers, and flight schools.

Meeting the Industry’s Financial Needs

There are two things that all aircraft dealers in the country are focused on—marketing their aircraft to prospective customers and helping prospects find financing solutions to get deals over the finish line. FLYING is planning to create turn-key solutions and packages for dealers and manufacturers that assist in delivering a massive sales funnel of prospects and prepacked financing solutions for ready-to-purchase customers. 

In April, FLYING launched a used aircraft marketplace known as Aircraft For Sale and plans to invest significantly in this area over the coming months. Aircraft For Sale is an online marketplace and a newsprint-style edition that is mailed to every FLYING subscriber monthly, with listings from aircraft dealers, OEMs, and individual aircraft owners.

“If you are selling an aircraft, you should consider listing on Aircraft For Sale, which offers the largest circulation of pilots and aircraft owners of any classified listings product in the world,” said Preston Holland, COO of FLYING Media Group. “We plan on combining aircraft listings, aircraft media content, and a finance solution through a single platform. We hope to create a frictionless buying and selling experience for all aircraft transactions.”

Bringing New Lenders into Aviation

In addition, FLYING Financial plans to expand the network of lenders that Sky Allies works with, including programs designed to educate and inform prospective banks about the opportunities and challenges that exist in aircraft financing. 

“There are too few financing providers and programs serving the industry today because of the limited number of bankers with personal experience in general aviation. We plan on changing this by creating educational programs and assistance for financial institutions that want to grow their aviation finance portfolios or that seek to build one from scratch,” said Craig Fuller, CEO of FLYING Media Group. 

“FLYING has the deepest library of information on aircraft, equipment, and suppliers of any company in the general aviation industry,” Fuller continued. “By combining our content resources and knowledge of the industry, we can help bankers and financial institutions understand the risks and opportunities in general aviation finance. General aviation needs more banks investing in the business, and we plan to develop that.” 

Customers that are currently looking for financing, dealers that wish to help their customers find low-cost and turn-key financing solutions, or suppliers/manufacturers looking for white-label programs should reach out to FLYING Financial at info@flyingfinancial.com.

About FLYING Media Group

FLYING Media Group is the largest aviation media provider in the world, with content spanning 17 aviation-related brands, including FLYING Magazine, Plane & Pilot, KITPLANES, AVweb.com, and Aircraft For Sale. 

With an audience of nearly 3 million monthly visitors and subscribers, the broad reach of the FLYING platform is unmatched by any other aviation media source.

The post FLYING Acquires Aircraft Finance Broker Sky Allies Capital appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

American Airlines had its share of these challenges yet still reported profitable quarters. In fact, during the company’s third-quarter earnings call on October 20, American’s CEO Robert Isom eagerly cited a third-quarter net income of $483 million from record quarterly revenue of $13.5 billion. Isom claims this sets a new record for any quarter in the company’s history.

• READ MORE: Major Airlines Rake in Record Q3 Revenues, Still Short on Workforce

Despite talks of an impending recession, the airline continues to execute its plan to pay down approximately $15 billion of total debt by the end of 2025. It also opted to make key investments, such as its October 31 announcement to form a new partnership with Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology. This collaboration provides cadets a career pathway resulting in an aviation degree and restricted airline transport pilot (R-ATP) certificate at 1,250 flight hours. On October 24, American also announced a new partnership with Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM) that provides aspiring aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs) with a direct career path to the airline.

Brokers Don’t See Buyer’s Remorse

When it comes to how aircraft charter and brokerage businesses are faring, data compiled from industry organizations, such as the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA), provide some indications. At the 2022 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), IADA Chair Zipporah Marmor expressed optimism after publicly releasing their third quarter numbers.

“The collective sentiment of IADA members is that traditionally heavy fourth-quarter volume will be driven by the phase-out of 100-percent bonus depreciation in the U.S., airline cutbacks to smaller cities spurring first-time buyers, and cash available for most aircraft purchases,” she said.

Pointing to the organization’s 2022 Third Quarter Market Report, IADA’s executive director Wayne Starling reiterated the membership’s optimism despite what’s happening with key financial triggers. “Our buyers and sellers are somewhat immune to current increases in interest rates. Over 60 percent of our transactions are paid in cash,’’ he noted in the IADA report.

• READ MORE: What Would a Recession Mean for Aviation?

Factors outside the U.S. could slow down this buying activity, according to Marmor. “Obviously, from the international perspective, stability in Europe and Asia are wildcards for the future. However, used aircraft sales were strong in the third quarter, and the fourth quarter outlook is encouraging,” she said.

Paul Cardarelli, vice president of sales at JetNet, echoed IADA’s view of a solid buying momentum. “Inventory of business aircraft has gone up 4 percent with extremely limited quantity,’’ he told FLYING.   

JetNet reports 10,800 light jets in service, with 520 of them for sale. Medium and large jets have 263 and 321 on the market, respectively. Cardarelli said the fourth quarter is historically busy, as buyers take advantage of bonus depreciation. “The fourth quarter will be pretty robust again,“ he noted.  

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many first-time buyers looking for options outside of airline travel, Cardarelli said. “Some of that demand has been satiated,” as airlines are beginning to restore their operations to somewhat near normal levels, he said. Cardarelli added that “demand will continue to be strong” but will not exceed what we saw in 2021, once OEMs begin to catch up on new aircraft deliveries. 

An Entrepreneur’s Perspective

Small business entrepreneurs face different potential economic stresses, according to Alfredo Diez, founder and CEO of Global Atlantis Group, and who also runs Atlantis Flight Academy and SkyJet Elite, a Part 135 jet charter operator.

The charter market continues to grow, according to Diez. “One of the signs of growth is percent of inventory,” he said. “The pre-pandemic ratio was about 30 percent of inventory. Now, it’s between 2 and 3 percent. Demand is not a problem; it’s more about finding the right inventory to operate our flights.” 

A recession likely won’t result in a significant decrease in his charter business revenue, he said.

On the flight training side, the Spanish-born entrepreneur  also expressed confidence that this segment will maintain an unprecedented pace, thanks to the ongoing pilot shortage.

“The airlines keep hiring at record levels, and Boeing’s commercial outlook supports a steady stream of new hires for the next eight to 10 years,” Diez noted. He added that many countries affected by the pandemic are opening up again, and this is allowing him to grow his large base of international flight cadets.

Diez recognizes that while the U.S. aviation market is solid for the time being, a strong dollar means a greater financial strain on those living in other countries and wishing to train here. 

“We depend on resources primarily from family members supporting their aspiring son or daughter,” he said. “This will adversely affect them, so we’re always looking for ways to help finance their career dreams.”

The post Most Aviation Businesses Aren’t Worried About a Recession, for Now appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

A: “Average” is an elusive notion when shopping for used aircraft, especially those that are many decades old. Today’s inflated market tends to make the potential price range even wider. Still, you can expect to find a 1965 182 with a mid-time engine, decent paint and interior, and pre-GPS avionics for around $100,000. A mildly updated panel, including a Garmin GNS 430 or 530 navigator, might push the asking price to $125,000.

There are other variables. A lovingly restored model of the same vintage with a panel updated in the last few years might top $200,000, but at that price, you might be better off looking for a newer model.

The best approach is to study the market closely to get a solid sense for which features tend to drive prices higher. That will help you decide which candidates fit your mission best.

• READ MORE: Finding Your Ideal Aircraft

Do you have a question about aviation that’s been bugging you? Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about aviation. Our experts in general aviation, flight training, aircraft, avionics, and more may attempt to answer your question in a future article.

The post How Much To Pay for an Older 182? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

IADA is the global collective of the world’s only accredited dealers and certified brokers, all major OEMs, and 75 industry-leading products and services providers, whose members buy and sell more aircraft by dollar volume than the rest of the world’s dealers combined, according to the association. IADA’s executive director, Wayne Starling, pointed out during the company’s market update this week that although IADA dealers make up 15 percent of all the dealers worldwide, they complete 46 percent of all sales of used aircraft. In fact, IADA’s dealers and brokers average more than 1,100 transactions or $10 billion in volume per year.

In the report, Starling celebrated the expansion the business aviation market experienced as the pandemic encouraged customers to pursue alternatives to airline travel. While during the first quarter, IADA members closed 35 percent more deals than the same period in 2021, Starling said deal activity in the second quarter is slowing down across all metrics.

Return to Normal for BA Sales?

For instance, the 134 new second quarter customer acquisition agreements represented 40 percent less activity than during the first quarter, which saw 223 deals. Moreover, sellers were now three times more willing to lower the sales price of their aircraft compared to the leverage they had in the first part of the year. It’s a stark contrast from what IADA member Paul Kirby said in April during the first quarter report, that customers were being asked to pay up to 45 percent above market value to secure an aircraft. 

There’s a sense now that the first quarter was when the market reached its service ceiling. In this report, Kirby commented that “pricing has stabilized in most markets with all but a handful of markets having ‘peaked’ in value late in the first quarter.”

Kirby explained that uncertainty in the market—particularly with talks of a recession (the result in part of high inflation)—was causing buyers to be more conscientious. Some now are in a wait-and-see mode.

“The macroeconomic uncertainty, combined with rapidly rising inflation and stock market volatility, has created a sense amongst buyers of a looming market correction. This sense is also starting to impact interest levels as buyers believe waiting will result in more favorable pricing,” Kirby said.

As a general market condition, IADA said that after an unprecedented 2021, member sentiment during this quarter was trending back to what it was in 2020.

Low Aircraft Inventory

It would be reasonable, then, to expect that the decreasing demand would mean that there was more inventory to go around, but that hasn’t been the case.

“While the market is still very robust, we see signs of it becoming more manageable. For example, instead of six offers on a listing, we are seeing two or three,” Starling said in the report. “Inventory is showing signs of improvement but still has a way to go before it is back to normal.”

However, in his comments, Kirby put it another way. “Limited inventory continues to constrain transaction volume in all market segments,” he said.

This is consistent with what Aero Asset, a Canadian Helicopter brokerage firm, said in its half-year helicopter market trends report last week—that a dwindling supply of used single-engine turbine helicopter inventory caused aircraft sales volume to shrink. 

In the report, Mike Francis, an IADA products and services member, said that might not be a bad thing.

“Even if demand falls off a bit, I’d in some ways prefer that,” Francis said in the report. “It’ll help the market get back to its normal equilibrium. I’m seeing a lot of potential buyers get turned off to the prospect of buying a jet due to the premium they need to pay and/or the lack of inventory.”

What’s Ahead? Members Weigh-in

Is the market slowing down? In the report, Kyle Wagman, director of aircraft transaction and consulting at Leading Edge Aviation Solutions, said he thinks it is.

“We have hit a part of the market cycle where things have leveled off, a plateau of sorts,” Wagman said. “With interest rates rising and buyers who are wary of getting their toes wet in this market, I sense a cooldown till [the] fourth quarter.”

IADA surveyed 900 members to get a sense of where they thought the market would be over the next six months. Respondents included IADA accredited dealers and their certified brokers and IADA products and services members, with the overwhelming responses coming from dealers and brokers, followed by financiers or lease providers. They were asked to rate sentiments on a scale of one to five, with one meaning “worst ever” and five meaning “best ever.” 

Across all measures, the sentiment was worse than last year’s sentiment when buyers elevated sales. Members rated the current business aircraft sales market more negatively than last year’s (2021) second quarter.

They also projected that the business aircraft sales market would shrink six months from now and that the financing market would be less pleasant than the growth it experienced last year. Finally, members thought the aircraft leasing market would be much worse over the next six months, a far cry from the upbeat tone they had going into the second half of 2021.

Strong Finish Ahead

For his part, Starling remained upbeat and said the backlog that aircraft OEMs needed to work through for the rest of the year was still sizable and was a positive indicator that business transactions would remain robust for the rest of the year and into 2023. IADA said the six-month outlook was that there’d be increased demand for all sectors of the used aircraft sales market—turboprop, light, medium, and large/ultralong-range jets. It also said that inventory deficiencies (supply shortfalls) could drive higher prices.

There could be two reasons for that, especially when framed against one positive signal from the report, which is that customers are closing deals faster than last year. On the one hand, this can be attributed to them moving more quickly to secure financing as banks are becoming more meticulous about lending. On the other hand, buyers also want to leverage the bonus depreciation tax break before the end of this year, which allows businesses to immediately deduct up to 100 percent of the purchase price of eligible assets. 

The post IADA: Market Returning to Pre-COVID Conditions appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Lower Sales Due to Lower Inventory

Aero Asset tracked retail sales of select helicopter models for purchase by Airbus, Bell, and Leonardo. It said the 106 units sold collectively during the year’s first half, worth $200 million, was down 10 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Moreover, 65 percent fewer aircraft were available this year. The supply market is so tight that Aero Asset says the outstanding sales inventory could be exhausted in three and a-half months. For instance, during the second quarter, of the units it tracked, only 64 aircraft worth $135 million were available for sale, according to the report. 

To be clear, Aero Asset defines retail sales as the number of used aircraft sold to end users, on and off the market. That number doesn’t include new aircraft, leases, sales and leasebacks, internal transactions, early buy-outs, government sales, or sales for parts. 

Here’s What Buyers Want

With North American buyers accounting for two-thirds of all the transactions during the period, the company said the most traded helicopters were the Airbus AS350 B3/B3e/H125 variant, followed by the Bell 407/GX/P/I, and the Airbus EC130 B4/H130. Per the report, the absorption rate, or the time it would take to sell all the available inventory for those aircraft, was merely 90 days, which means there are very few helicopters to go around, and people are finding it harder to find the one they want. In a helicopter Investor Town Hall earlier this week, Will Sturm, Aero Asset’s vice president of sales, attributed the demand to first-time buyers. However, the supply of available EMS helicopters fell to a historic low, and the inventory for helicopters in a utility configuration decreased by 75 percent compared to the same time in 2021. Sturm said the economy’s rebound meant finding utility helicopters for things such as aerial work was challenging. The helicopter that has been the hardest to sell during the first half was the high-performance Leonardo AW119K/Ke/Kx, which the firm said is taking up to 10 months for sellers to find a buyer.

European Market Disrupted by Crisis

With the disruption following in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, European sales decreased by 50 percent year over year, though Europe accounts for nearly 40 percent of overall inventory available for purchase. Looking ahead to the year’s second half, Sturm said he expected demand for turbine helicopters to remain strong as buyers look to leverage the bonus depreciation tax break. Presently, bonus depreciation allows businesses to immediately deduct up to 100 percent of the purchase price of eligible assets. Sturm said the ongoing energy crisis could affect prices and inventory in Europe.

The post Helicopter Sales Slump in First Half of 2022 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) predicts that used turbine business aircraft prices and demand will continue to rise, solidifying the market position that has been building through 2021.

The association’s [third quarter 2021 report|https://aircraftexchange.com/market-report] depicts a landscape where low used-aircraft inventories and a backlog in orders at OEMs combine to drive a 20 to 30 percent increase in sales prices over recent months.

“Clearly, the market for used business aircraft is at an unusual place, with much higher prices and dearth of inventory in the most modern used business aircraft markets,” said IADA executive director Wayne Starling. “The third quarter responses from our membership predict the next six months will continue to have increased pricing and demand for all sectors of the market, while inventory deficiencies will continue to drive higher prices.”

In a briefing with FLYING, Starling spoke specifically of the inventory decline that started near the end of the second quarter of 2020, with “real impact” hitting in Q4 and Q1 of 2021. “The lack of new inventory from OEMs drives it,” he said. And a new type of buyer is part of the equation.

Trade-ins to a new model in the past sent a used aircraft onto the market—but now, a lot of new users of private aviation are creating a different dynamic. “There’s a massive influx of first-time buyers,” said Starling. Up to 40 percent of purchases, in fact, represent these transactions—and “they’re not trading in anything.”

IADA—founded 25 years ago—created its accreditation program partially in response to the needs of new buyers. “They don’t know the process,” said Starling, and thus could be taken advantage of by unscrupulous aircraft brokers.

Inside the Report

“The report is a product of trusted opinions backed by hard sales data,” said IADA in a release. “It incorporates quantitative sales data from AircraftExchange.com and qualitative survey data from IADA Accredited Dealers.

IADA markets are spread across the globe, with:

• 36 percent of the activity in North America
• 20 percent in Europe
• 18 percent in Latin America
• 15 percent in Asia and the Pacific
• 12 percent in the Middle East and Africa—with less than one percent in the Caribbean

“Year over year, third quarter used aircraft dealer activity reflects a continuing heated market with 182 aircraft agreements, compared to 110 in the third quarter of 2020,” according to IADA. “There were only seven transactions with lowered prices in the third quarter of 2021, while there were 83 in the same period in 2020.”

IADA dealers reported:

• 40 transactions fell apart in the quarter that just ended in 2021, compared to 50 in the same period in 2020.
• 325 deals closed this past quarter, compared to 283 in the third quarter in 2020.

Looking Ahead

For the next six months, IADA projects that demand and prices will continue to rise, based on surveys with its dealer network—which includes 48 accredited dealers, certified brokers, seven of the major turbine aircraft OEMs, and more than 63 of the industry’s leading products and services providers.

This prediction stretches across the market segments, including turboprop, light jet, midsize, large, and ultra-long-range jets.

The post Dealer Association Predicts Rising BizJet Prices, Demand appeared first on FLYING Magazine.