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Aircraft Appraisals: Field Research is Critical

Buying aircraft, financing aircraft, or even leasing aircraft are processes dense enough to almost make you give up. Appraisal reports make it easier, but it is crucial to know your appraiser is NAAA-certified and working through an established aircraft valuation database. Why? Because aircraft price publications are the default resource for aircraft valuation, and they don't always account for refurbishment, avionics upgrades or aging airframes.

What is the average buyer, banker or layperson to do if they need to know the value of a specific aircraft? Many turn to numbers reported in price publications or the asking prices on aircraft sales websites, believing the information is accurate, but this can be an expensive mistake.

The growing refurbishment trend for aging airframes, plus the high prices of avionics retrofits, makes the valuation process even more difficult. That’s why a formal appraisal report that’s skillfully prepared by a trained and experienced appraiser can yield more accurate figures than back-of-the-envelope guesstimates.