Pilot – June 2018

76 | Pilot June 2018 | pilotweb.aero

you with a guide to buying an

aircraft, new, used or kit built, so

whether you’re buying your first

aircraft, third or even fourth, we

can help you to avoid some of the

common pitfalls and buy with

good, sensible consideration.

The general aviation

marketplace suffered during the

credit crunch, sales of new light

aircraft dropping off. It was a

slightly different story with used

aircraft sales, and Andy Twemlow

from AT Aviation reports that the

closing stages of the recession

saw “artificially low pricing on

a wide range of aircraft giving

rise to some crazy deals. Good

quality PA-28-140 Cherokees and

Cessna 150s selling for under

£8k; good Warriors and 172s

changing hands at less than

£20k−and if you purchased then,

you have probably made a better

investment than the stock market

could return.

“All sectors of the used market

are now growing well and today

we have an interesting supply and

demand problem.”

Brian Kane of Heli Air and

British European Aviation Limited

agrees that when the credit

crunch caught up with general

aviation around 2011, the dip in

sales of new aircraft meant that

there’s been a lack of low-hours

aircraft on the market available

to buy over the last couple of

years. This trend has continued

following the fall of in the value

of Sterling against the US dollar,

and Brian states “Most popular

light helicopters and aeroplanes−

Robinson, Piper and Cessna

aircraft−come from the USA and

most are purchased for pleasure

rather than business usage,” and

that “buyers, in the main, are

still saying that they will wait for

currency recovery.”

David Morris of Just Plane

Trading very much concurs that

buyers are being more cautious

with the uncertainty of Brexit

but, that said, “certain planes

through time have always moved,

most notably the trusty Cessnas

and Pipers which have, to this

day, always traded well.” This

Advertising Feature

Buying a Permit aircraft

If you’re thinking of buying a kit

built or Permit to Fly aircraft,

that is, an aircraft that has been

built by an individual rather than

a certified manufacturer, and

maintained by an individual rather

than an approved maintenance

organisation, then the Light

Aircraft Association (LAA) will

provide you with the specialist

guidance that you will need.

Regular readers of Pilot magazine

will recognise that Steve Slater,

CEO of the LAA, writes a regular

column for Pilot (‘Open Cockpit’)

and here he gives us some insight

into ownership options.

‘An LAA Permit to Fly aircraft

overseen by the Light Aircraft

Association is one of the most

cost-effective options for aircraft

ownership, either as a solo

purchase or by enjoying the shared

knowledge and enthusiasm of

fellow co-owners in a syndicate.

In terms of both purchase price

and ongoing maintenance costs,

a Permit to Fly aircraft can prove

significantly cheaper than a

Certificated equivalent. There’s

a simple reason for this. The

Cessna or Piper at your local club

operates on an EASA Certificate

of Airworthiness (C of A), part of a

regulatory regime that demands

that the aircraft is designed, built

and maintained to internationally-

recognised standards. All the

materials that it is built with,

down to the last nut and bolt,

have traceability and a laid-down

specification and manufacturing

process. All this costs money,

making the design, build and

operation of C of A aircraft more

complex and expensive than a

Permit type.

‘Permit aircraft can normally

be categorised in two areas,

home- or kit-built types, or

classics and former C of A

aircraft that have transitioned

to Permit status because their

original manufacturers no

longer exist, or cannot supply

type-support and parts supplies.

The costs of such aircraft range

from well under £10,000 for a

small single-seat homebuilt, or

PHOTO: AT AVIATION

PHOTO: HELI AIR LIMITED

Helicopters have huge ‘land anywhere’ appeal