Ownership

First-quarter aircraft shipments figures released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association point to an industry still being buffeted by economic headwinds nearly eight years after the Great Recession of 2008. All fixed-wing aircraft segments posted declines compared with last year’s first quarter numbers, as reported GA airplane billings dropped 9.5 percent by value to $4 […]

Specialized flight training has long been part of the typical transition process for pilots moving up to ever-faster and more capable airplanes. A rash of fatal SR22 crashes in 2012, however, forced Cirrus Aircraft to go back to the drawing board and completely rethink its approach to training. Nothing was out of bounds, from the […]

How to Save Big on a Used Airplane By Stephen Pope If you’re in the market for a used airplane, the good news is there are thousands available for sale on trade-a-plane.com, barnstormers.com and tacked to the bulletin boards at local airports. The bad news is most of them are so old you might wonder […]

Ascension Air, the Atlanta-based Cirrus SR22 timeshare provider, has struck a deal with ONE Aviation to add the Eclipse 550 very light jet to its fleet. It marks the first time any fractional-ownership company has offered shares in jets for the owner-flown market. The Eclipse owners can choose to earn a type rating in the […]

Mooney International has announced a new certified pre-owned sales program similar to those offered by automobile manufacturers. The program was developed in partnership with Premier Aircraft Sales, which has a factory authorized Mooney service center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “There are individuals who want the speed, safety and style of a Mooney — and a […]

Getting the airplane of your dreams doesn’t always have to include a stop by the showroom to check out the latest models. For would-be owners who have the time and money to invest in upgrading an aging bird, the possibilities are endless. Longtime pilot and aircraft owner Christophe Jouany recently went through that exact process, […]

It’s Saturday morning in small-town America, circa the early 1990s. My five younger siblings, flannel-clad in pastel jammies, are sprawled across the living room furniture watching Bugs Bunny gleefully thwart Elmer Fudd’s latest wabbit-hunting schemes. Mom is in the kitchen whipping up a batch of pancakes for her hungry brood. Dad and I are on […]

I was introduced to the art of buying and selling flying machines on a spring afternoon in 1965, standing next to an airplane salesman who’d just closed a deal on an AT-6 at Lunken Airport. The sound from that round engine as the buyer departed Runway 21R was glorious, but when it passed almost directly […]

I’ve been an airplane nut and have longed to have one of my very own for nearly as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, I have also been an inveterate cheapskate since childhood. Aviation is a fine vocation for a tightwad; if not quite a job requirement to begin with, frugality is at least one […]

The airplane repo agent has been tracking this prey for weeks. Sitting on the ramp is his prize — a pristine, late-model Piper Malibu with a gorgeous paint job and perfect leather interior. A loan payment hasn’t been made in months, and the bank wants this asset back now. It should fetch a premium price […]