Jay Mesinger

Questions & Answers
Preparing For Sale
Words of Warning

March 30, 2004:

In this section, GBJ takes questions from readers on all business aviation issues and finds the relevant expert to answer their queries. This month, Jay Mesinger fields questions about preparations for the sale of an aircraft and the consequences of a missing logbook.

Q: We are preparing our aircraft for sale. Is there anything we, as a flight department, should be focusing on?

A: There is plenty one can do to prepare an aircraft for what will be often thought of as a very personal, very trying experience. First, look at the records. Are they complete? If there are holes, can they be filled? Can missing yellow tags be recovered? Are the books in order?

I often show up at pre-buys to see boxes heaped up on a conference table. Sure they are all there, but the records are literally thrown in boxes with no order. This makes a terrible impression on buyers and is even more frustrating for the shop engaged to perform the pre-buy inspection. Of course waiting until you put the plane on the market to organise the records is a mammoth task.

Start the day you buy a plane, to prepare to sell. Obvious maintenance that can be performed at home with your own parts and labour provide a lower cost of corrective actions during the sale.

A thorough walk-around inspection can reveal things easily corrected in your own hangar, such as leaking fluids and worn tyres. It makes a better impression, gives both buyer and inspecting facility a better feeling about the plane and I promise lowers blood pressure and costs. So don’t be one of those people I hear in the facility lobby thinking out loud about wishing you had thought about this ahead of time.

Q: Does a missing logbook impact the value of an aircraft?

A: The short answer is yes. The long and more thoughtful answer quantifies how much. If for instance, the logbook is for an engine that has had an overhaul accomplished in a more recent logbook, the impact will be minimal. If the new log speaks to the cycles and the work accomplished and accompanying tags are available, very little value will be placed on the missing book.

If the book is an airframe log that is sandwiched between two others – meaning it is book two of three – the impact will be derived by looking at the events that took place that would be represented by the missing book. A 72-month inspection and landing gear overhauls, for instance, taking place and memorialised in the missing book could have a more formidable impact.

I have seen aeroplanes with all books missing. The impact could be as much as 50 per cent of the value of an aircraft with full records. Remember, it is not the book; it is the content that has the value.

Entries that deal with damage, compliance and inspections may be reconstructed with a considerable amount of legwork. The recon-structed book will be important to a buyer or owner, but will not fully fulfil the value equation.

When reconstructing a book, I always order an FAA file from the FAA. This will give 337s and engineering information on major repairs and modifications. The log entries will not be a part of the FAA file.

Copies of work orders can be used to help maintenance facilities which did prior work, create entries that although reconstructed, will be useful to all. Keep logs and records in a safe, fireproof location and do not be casual about their disposition. They are key to the value of your aviation asset.


- Jay Mesinger