AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2018 - T-4

TURBINE PILOT

FINANCE

Why use professionals?

Aviation finance content sponsored by
Aero-Space Reports

Brokers can help prevent mistakes
IF YOU WANT A TURBOPROP, A JET, OR EVEN a high-end pistonengine aircraft, there are all sorts of professionals waiting to help
with financing, accounting, insurance, appraisal, title and escrow,
and legal concerns. The fees for all of them, however, could total
$8,000 to $10,000-or even more. Is it worth it?
A new buyer, or first-time buyer of a high-end, single-engine
aircraft, may not appreciate or understand what professional
services offer. Those with more ownership experience generally
understand the value of professional guidance.
Buyers of less expensive aircraft, especially those used only
for personal travel, may not need every service. Even if you are
buying an entry-level jet, you may be able to get away with ignoring an appraisal and save $2,000 in the process. You also may not
need an aviation-oriented lawyer if you are not planning on creating a holding company for the aircraft or establishing a leaseback
arrangement to a closely held business, saving you anywhere from
$2,000 to $4,000 in legal fees. (When you do need an attorney,
choose one who specializes in aviation.)
Everyone should appreciate the use of professionals, especially for escrow, financing, and even buying the aircraft. Care
to skip the aircraft
broker and just read
BENEFITS OF BROKERS
for-sale ads on your
* They have experience specific
own? You will save
to aircraft.
broker fees-but do
* They can choose from a number
you know how to
of lenders.
recognize a faulty
* They can guide you through
airplane? The airthe complexities.
craft broker buys and
sells aircraft every

ADAM MEREDITH

AOPA Aviation Finance

day. Brokers also often have airplanes not yet listed that can be
bought at a good price.
Let's say you skip the finance broker-who may have access to
many financing sources-by going to your local bank. Maybe you
have a good relationship with your local banker, and the banker is
satisfied with your financial situation. But when the loan reaches
the bank's credit committee, suddenly your fate is in the hands
of decision makers who may not understand aircraft loans, or
have heard unfavorable rumors about them. Satisfying the FAA
when filling out aircraft loan paperwork is an art in itself-one not
understood by most banks. If the bank should make a mistake, you
may not find out until three or four years down the road when you
want to sell your airplane.
As with the aircraft broker, the benefit of using a finance broker
comes from the broker's wide range of multiple finance companies
and daily experience with financing airplanes. A broker can pair
you up with the best-suited lender. A typical lender may offer one
or two ways to structure a loan, while a good broker has access to
financiers offering every variety of services that are available and
tailored to best fit your situation. It's the difference between an ice
cream store offering just vanilla versus the Baskin-Robbins store
across the street with Bobsled Brownie among its 31 flavors. AOPA
ADAM MEREDITH is president of AOPA Aviation Finance.

www.aopafinance.com, 800-62-PLANE (75263).

LETTERS FROM OUR JULY ISSUE
TEXTRON FOLLOWS IN THE FOOTSTEPS,

methinks, of Northrop and its unfortunately illfated F-20 Tiger Shark ("Special Op," July 2018
AOPA Pilot, Turbine Edition). Even an endorsement from Chuck Yeager failed to draw the
attention of the Pentagon crowd to the F-20,
ultimately relegated to the dust bin of failed, but
better aeronautical ideas. Why? The same thing
that, I think, will limit the Scorpion; a system
not dreamed up by the Puzzle Palace pundits,
thus unwanted and unsupported by the military branches and bereft of sufficient pork to
gain congressional support. Let us hope such is not the case this time; that the Scorpion is not a case of
history repeating itself.
Bob Howie
|

TURBINE PILOT

SPECIAL OP
Textron's Scorpion brings GA know-how to the military space

BY THOMAS B. HAINES
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE FIZER

THE PICKUP TRUCK pulls surreptitiously out of the parking lot and
heads toward the interstate, attempting to fit in with the rest of the
traffic. From our perch at 12,500 feet, we are practically invisible
from the ground, and silent. The driver has no idea we are monitoring his every move, the L3 Wescam MX-15 camera in the nose
turret is providing a high-definition image on the big Garmin display in front of me. With the touch of a button I can share that hi-def
video and other sensor data with anyone else in the "combat cloud."
Cleared to engage, I use my middle finger on the back of the buttonfestooned joystick to slew an icon over the truck, the system now
tracking it as a target. I choose a laser-guided rocket from one of the
hard points on the right wing and send it on its way, the truck disappearing in a flash a few seconds later.

T-10 | AOPA PILOT July 2018

www.aopa.org/pilot AOPA PILOT | T-11

AOPA 5731177
Friendswood, Texas

T-4 | AOPA PILOT September2018

An owner spotlight in
"Sweet Spot," August
2018 AOPA Pilot, Turbine
Edition incorrectly stated
Nancy Auth's occupation, the range of Nancy
and David Auth's Cessna
Citation CJ2, and the
locations of their homes.
Nancy Auth is retired,
and the CJ2 cannot fly
nonstop between the
Auths' homes in Seattle
and Florida. AOPA Pilot
regrets the errors.

http://www.aopafinance.com http://www.aopa.org/pilot

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - September 2018