Don’t Advertise Your Aircraft Until It’s Ready to Be Seen

The enquiry you’ve been waiting for could arrive on day one. If your aircraft isn’t ready for photographs, records review or a serious buyer’s inspection, you’ve started the sale on the back foot.

A little preparation before advertising can make the aircraft easier to present and make the next stages of the sale more straightforward.

Pre-Sale Checklist:

✓ Give the exterior and interior a thorough clean
✓ Remove personal items and unnecessary clutter
✓ Fix sensible minor defects rather than leaving a list of niggles
✓ Gather and organise logbooks and maintenance records
✓ Check aircraft, engine and propeller times
✓ Prepare an accurate avionics and equipment list
✓ Photograph the aircraft properly once it’s presentation-ready
✓ Identify known issues you’ll need to discuss with buyers

This doesn’t mean spending heavily trying to make an older aircraft perfect. Focus on presentation, accurate information and issues that could unnecessarily create a poor first impression.

The seller takeaway: do the preparation before the advert goes live. When the right buyer appears, you want to be ready to answer questions, provide records and move the conversation forward.

Aircraft sellers, what pre-sale preparation has made the biggest difference when you’ve marketed an aircraft?