AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 34

BRIEFING

Going, going, gone
Aircraft auction has aircraft flying away
B Y D AV E H I R S C H M A N

AUCTIONEER

Robert Bass (above) gets bidding started. Ohio pilot Rick Gray (right) is the top bidder for a highly sought-after Pitts Special.

VIEW THE

VIDEO

BUYERS CAME from Australia, Canada, and all over the United States to bid at an auction for an eclectic collection of 13 vintage, aerobatic, and sport airplanes at the Firebird Aviation Museum near Cleveland, Ohio. But the 90-minute auction held May 19 at Geauga County Airport (7G8) was no fire sale. John T. Venaleck, an inventor and industrialist, was pruning his aircraft fleet and decided to do it via a live auction—a sales method that appears to be increasingly popular in an age when eBay and reality shows such as Storage Wars have made such events semiprofessional sports. More than 200 people, almost all of them qualified buyers with bank letters of guarantee in their pockets, attended the Ohio auction and spent a total of roughly $1.3 million on airplanes ranging from a 1946 Aeronca Champ to an immaculately restored Spartan Executive. Unlike distress sales at which buyers can expect steep discounts, many of the airplanes sold for a premium—even in a down market. “My company specializes in aviation auctions so we know the products, we know what they’re worth, we have a mailing list of 52,000 potential buyers who have come to us to get on our mailing list,” said Steve Starman, founder of Starman Brothers Auctions,

a Nebraska firm that has been organizing aviation auctions around the United States for more than 20 years. “I wouldn’t be much good at a tractor auction. But when it comes to aviation, I know the industry and I know where to advertise.” Starman had advertised extensively in print and online aviation publications during the weeks leading up to the Ohio auction, and the ads apparently found their mark. Guy Bourke, a Qantas Boeing 767 captain in Melbourne, Australia, traveled all the way to Ohio and ended up buying a beautifully restored cabin Waco biplane for $155,000. He plans to leave it in the United States this summer, fly it to EAA AirVenture at Oshkosh, then have it dismantled, packed in a container, and shipped to Australia. “I feel some sympathy with the seller because I’m sure it isn’t easy to part with such a lovely airplane,” Bourke said. “But I can assure him it will be well looked-after in Australia. I can’t wait to take my family flying in it.” The exchange rate helped Bourke, but U.S. buyers were equally aggressive—despite a steady decline in the value of most piston aircraft in the last four years. An Extra 300L, for example, sold for $204,000 despite an

PAUL HARROP

34 | AOPA PILOT July 2012

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012

AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012
Contents
President's Position
Visual Approach
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Safety Pilot
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Sailing in With a Splash
Still Training After All These Years
Going, Going, Gone
Fly-Outs
Pilot Products
Test Pilot
New Weekly Aviation
Quick Look
Turbine Profile
The Piper Meridian
Single-Pilot Jet
Epic Flight: Natural Wonder
The Golden Maule
Parts of the Puzzle
Reaching the Summit
AERO Fever
That Thing Up Front
Technique
Wx Watch
Never Again
Avionics
State And Local Action
Member Products
AOPA Insurance Agency
AOPA Foundation
Fly by Wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - President's Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 6
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Visual Approach
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Safety Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 28
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Sailing in With a Splash
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Still Training After All These Years
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Going, Going, Gone
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Fly-Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Pilot Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Test Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 45
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - New Weekly Aviation
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - I1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - I2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Epic Flight: Natural Wonder
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - The Golden Maule
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 64
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Parts of the Puzzle
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 70
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Reaching the Summit
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 76
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - AERO Fever
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 81
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 85
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - That Thing Up Front
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Technique
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 89
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Wx Watch
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 93
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 95
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Avionics
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 99
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - State And Local Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Member Products
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - AOPA Insurance Agency
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - AOPA Foundation
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 107
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Fly by Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - July 2012 - Cover4
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