Pre-Buy - Finance - Insure - Upgrade - Damaged - Pre-Sale

A certified appraisal will ideally come into play before agreements are made and money exchanges hands. By having the most accurate information in hand you are better prepared to make an informed decision.

There are three types of aircraft appraisals and only one that is certified and trusted by financial institutions.

Blue-Book Appraisal  In a book appraisal you merely plug in a bare minimum of information such as model and year and then a percentage deduction is applied to the gross value.  This method unfortunately does not account for damage history, missing logs, or upgrades and maintenance quality. The baseline for the value is also not verified with current market conditions but rather generated from a catch all equation.

Desktop Appraisal goes one step further yet not far enough. A desktop appraisal is basically a book appraisal with the addition of log inspection and a value modified by personal beliefs of the evaluator to cover upgrades or damages etc.

Certified Appraisal guarantees that a credited aircraft expert conducted a field visit to examine and inventory the subject aircraft. The appraiser then performs a thorough review of aircraft documentation including logs and any supplements, recording all major repairs or upgrades on FAA Form 337. Only then can the appraiser begin to formulate a comprehensive report. The report has been created to USPAP standards with review to insure impartiality and completeness.

As a potential or existing aircraft owner we know that not two aircraft are alike. This is your chance to get a complete picture of your assets value. With the number of variables that can dramatically effect the value of your aircraft  such as time limited components, avionics, airframe modifications or aesthetics there is no need to over pay or overextend in a loan. 

Beyond pre-purchase, as an aircraft owner being armed with a certified appraisal you will be able to more accurately negotiate an appropriate insurance policy before or after a disaster.