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)
Grab my free Airplane Buying Roadmap here which summarizes this video all in one place: airplaneacademy.com/roadmap
Learn more about the Airplane Buying System at airplaneacademy.com/own where I spent months documenting my own experience in airplane ownership, as well as interviewing my aviation mentors and industry experts (maintenance, tax, brokerage, insurance, personal finance, and more) to create a step-by-step system that you can follow to purchase your first airplane and save time and money in the process. If you sign up for the free roadmap above (airplaneacademy.com/roadmap) you'll also receive a discount code for the Airplane Buying System!
Link to "Engines" by Mike Busch: amzn.to/2UARn52
More info about Charlie: airplaneacademy.com/charlie-g...
Looking for 1:1 help? Check out airplaneacademy.com/hire-charlie and we can talk anything aviation or entrepreneurship related.
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[@countryfence8111]

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.

[@jdwilk5023]

That's good info.

[@1shARyn3]

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

[@stewie84]

Yes, this is a major flaw in the system.

[@1shARyn3]

@@stewie84 yeah, one that newbie owners don't realize until their first bill comes in ;-(

[@callbackdons]

​@@1shARyn3 or anyone else who's knowledgeable, what is a reasonable, relatively average example of this?

[@1shARyn3]

@@callbackdons for what? an AD fix? Depends on what it is. A Door seal? $100. An Engine replacement? $83,000. A spar replacement? $100,000. All depends on what the problem is

[@1shARyn3]

@@callbackdons There is no "typical" or "average" cost --- but expect them to be at least well into the 4-digit range with 5-digits no uncommon. (but they don't happen commonly)

[@MichaelGolpe]

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

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Thanks so much, Michael! Really appreciate it!

[@user-tg6ty4gu1f]

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.

[@gregoryrobinson161]

As a current student pilot...... You are the BEST!!!!! THANKS

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Thank you, really appreciate it and glad you enjoy the channel!!

[@rbitfrog]

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!!!

[@dalh598.1]

YUP. I've been on the waitlist for 3 years, and if spots go like they have been, it will be another 4 years before I have an opportunity. I don't even have a plane lined up (yet) Someone else I know has been in a waitlist for 7 years, and is just now starting to build his airplane, because he knows that the hangar will open up AFTER he's done (another 7 years). It's a HUGE wait time in some areas right now

[@rbitfrog]

I will say I am fortunate enough to live in an area with quite a few good GA airports, The waiting list I'm on is at the city-owned airport 10 minutes from my house. In the meanwhile I bought a hangar (and a share of the airport) at a pilot-owned public use airport about 50 minutes from my house. It's not nearly as convenient and does cut down on my flying when I keep the plane in the hangar but at least I have a place to go when the weather is forecast to be bad.

[@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!

[@seamustheterrible3978]

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

[@itismylifesogoforit]

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

[@michael_viteritti]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing all the information :D

[@AJtex713]

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.

[@theflyer4916]

Great info! Thank you for such a comprehensive presentation.

[@jamesccook]

Thank you, Great information and great presentation

[@mohammadbarani5452]

Very useful. Thanks so much!

[@matthewphilip2043]

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

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Awesome glad you found it helpful!

[@amariner5]

Thank you very much. Hope to consult with you in person or over the phone some day... when I'm buying.

[@jhc236]

This is a great video and fantastically timed for where I currently am in my flying journey!

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed!

[@mountainbikeacademy]

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

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Thank you! I appreciate that and glad you found it helpful!

[@ginacarpenter1208]

Just starting ground school for my ppl. Thanks for this video! Very helpful! Cheers

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Congratulations!!

[@elbola-yl9ds]

Thanks for all your hard work man!

[@xenimaging]

Great work on this!

[@nyontozel]

Wow all this education for free! Mahhhnnn, no excuses, we must make it! i MUST make it!

[@TheSaint135]

Awesome video, thanks!!

[@mrnelson928]

Nice job & great information.... Like r opinion on c182 Thank You sir

[@stevebeschakis9775]

Thanks. You talked me out of it.

[@quavovlogs3930]

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

[@fanBladeOne]

Truth

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for your kind words.

[@cybhunter007]

(Student Solo here) The six point criteria is a great starting point. I will ask though, if you plan on modernizing an older plane (eg the 182A) how much of a tradeoff can you factor in for the cost of the airframe, it's condition, state of logs in relation to the capital costs of upgrading (eg replacing the Steam gauges with a G5, GTN650 setup)

[@steveconaway774]

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.

[@threeuniquefingers]

What was the retail price?

[@steveconaway774]

@@threeuniquefingers Back in 2012 it was $82k.

[@matthewhooks5548]

Your strut and wheel pant fairings, (I THINK), are just died plastic and not painted, therefore just getting more tan looking over time with UV and just age. I used to work as a GA mechanic and I remember seeing that on Cessnas. Beautiful aircraft you have!

[@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.

[@GeneralSirDouglasMcA]

There are many aircraft that have spent their entire lives tied down on the ramp. Hangaring is best if available/affordable, but not necessarily mandatory.

[@countryfence8111]

As a 30+ year aircraft owner, I couldn't disagree more. No hangar is no way to treat a plane...its horrible! Sun fading, bird, mouse, and wasps nests, hail, and more, and plane ages by a factor of 10 when left outside.

[@ronaldobale2886]

What if u wannna fly between 30-40 hours a month after getting all ur certificates to get to the big 1500h, what would u suggest? Thanks

[@angelavenger332]

While renting you pay all the same as when you own, with the most critical added price -- you are paying for all these "maintenance and cares" to be done by someone else :) Therefore, it is all about your own time and efforts. Of course, if you are rich enough, you can own and pay others to take care :)

[@GusHeck]

This video is amazingly well put together. Great job. One thing I ponder that's not discussed is experience/learning curve. I've got a gut feeling that it's probably good to get comfortable flying regularly via renting before adding the additional complexity of owning... but I'm wondering how you feel about that. Obviously, to some extent it's personal, but maybe there's some guidance/thoughts on how long there? Also, I wonder about the case if I get on a wait list and something does come up before I get the airplane... Do most places allow you to take it over and sub-let it until you have an aircraft to hangar? If you can't take it when the first one comes up (or you don't want that particular hangar for some reason) do you go to the back of the list and have to wait years again? Baring a large financial change, I probably won't purchase until the mortgage is paid off in a few years...

[@user-fc2ol7rd6i]

They may let you rent an empty hangar for a while until you can find a plane. Might be better to bite the bullet on that cost rather than miss an opportunity of a vacant hangar or risk losing your spot and being put on the bottom of the waiting list.

[@Quisqueyax]

Controller is my fav

[@aviatortrucker6285]

Either way you go it’s generally expensive if you have other expenses in your life and you’re not a well to do individual. If it’s left to decide how much time you can fly based on how much you can afford to rent then obviously ownership isn’t a good choice either because you still have to put money aside whether you fly or not to cover the expenses of maintenance, annuals, Insurance and hangers space. If you think that $400 hamburger on one flight is a lot of money think of it say approximately $10,000 a year in owning an airplane. And the cost goes substantially up if there becomes a problem with the engine, or you get to the point where an overhaul is needed. You are almost getting into a second mortgage. One of the worst parts of ownership. Now that I can guess would be the cost of insurance. With the increase in claims and fatalities, the rise of Insurance is going to be to a point where it’s going to exceed the cost of an annual or an overhaul.

[@michaelmoso1567]

a 182 for $93K back in 2016? Year? what was TTAF and engines?

[@kenbrand8972]

What does your dad do and what is his mission with his m2

[@jwd270]

Is there a search tool that lets you search for aircraft by mission profile? Seems like most of the classified sites are organized by make and model. It’s hard to know which models to look for at first.

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Good question. I am not aware of one. I've thought about trying to build one at some point but there are so many different models it's kind of challenging. I would suggest starting with the most common airplanes... look at the listings and how many there are and start with the big names. Next, google for airplanes with ___ useful load or whatever quality you're needing. Also, AOPA has a good series of "budget buys" and other starter airplanes where they cover some intro airplanes and their stats. You can also post here in the comments or on Reddit and describe your mission profile and get input from others. People love answering those questions because it's fun to brainstorm with you. If you also know you want to stay in the Cessna line or other brands, you can join one of the ownership groups and post on their forums and you'll be able to learn more about the specific parameters of each of the model years and such and what changed (useful load, etc.). There's no silver bullet way to say "here are all of the specific airplanes that fit that exact mission" but you can start to piece it together through the above steps. I know that's not an immediate solution but hope it helps.

[@ronnyhilldssa1qqhjjjklqq771]

Working on my ppl now.. and looking for a 182 is yours for sale? Lol

[@ramjet4025]

The XLS spreadsheet is problemantic. It provides a subjective viw of fixed and variable expenses that do not reflect practical reality. The hourly rate or cost of ownership needs to be at a per hour rate, 50, 100, 2000, 300 are typical of private ownership. The Insurance is dramatically understated. There are two "models" , the Flight school cost, and the privately owned machine cost. The bottom line is that private ownership is at first tripple the rental cost, then by 200 hours thats the numer of private hours that it equals the cost of a flight school. Once it passes 200 hours, or the cost is shared, then it has financial advantages over renting a flight school machine.

[@FlyingNDriving]

T182rg, pa32r-301t

[@Ciscoql]

If your budget is 20k, you'll never buy a plane lmao not in this economy

[@speedbird7976]

Been looking at a 172 or Cherokee however I am very dissatisfied when I see many owners overcharging. Saw a 172 with 13K TTAF and a TBO engine for six figure for a 1976 model. Wow those planes were $40K a few years ago. When do you guys predict prices to go down and if I were to contact some owners what’s a reasonable price I can offer to counteract the aggressive pricing

[@muhammadsteinberg]

VREF should be your starting source for what you should pay. Owners are ridiculous with some of the prices.

[@speedbird7976]

@@muhammadsteinberg thank you I’m not ready to purchase for another few months any alternative source outside Vref to look at prices without paying the high Vref price subscription at the moment?

[@muhammadsteinberg]

@speedbird7976 True, they do have an outrageous price! Are you a member of AOPA? AOPA members get access for free. Might be worth the subscription for that alone. I'm not sure, but I think you can get complimentary vrefs.

[@JoshuaTootell]

8:57 Accurate. As a horse owner

[@antoniog9814]

10:22 Mmm...bacon 😀

[@rhkennerly]

No shit about the hanger. I had to kiss a lotta widows to sweet talk my way into a hanger…2 hrs away!

[@Quisqueyax]

Get a cheap farm with enough flat terrain, build a tall garage. Done.

[@rhkennerly]

Hmmm….in 1969 I parked the tractor, hitched into town, hid from my dad, & joined a shooting war to get off the farm. Land means tractor work. No thanks. @@Quisqueyax

[@muhammadsteinberg]

​@@rhkennerlyYes! You just added another thing to maintain.

[@jorglehamborger]

jorgle hamborger

[@ramjet4025]

Its a Bait and Switch youtube channel. Dont bother looking for the link to that pdf doc. Notice he keeps quiet on the real sujbect before baiting us to his site I'll give this a thumbs down.

[@jdwilk5023]

It's already a bad idea to buy a plane if one is concerned with fuel cost and those things. Annuals and overhauls I can understand. How crazy would it be to buy a car when you have to consider the price of gas. I don't know maybe I'm wrong. Just seems like priorities should be somewhere else if the finances are going to cut it that close.