“I began flying as a kid,” says Tim Jones whose father had an aerial advertising business doing banner towing and sky writing and a night sign. He adds, “I was around interesting airplanes and interesting people. I earned my private pilot certificate right after college. I then began my career, relocated a couple of times, got married and began a family.”
As such, he did not log a lot of time PIC but he did continue to fly with his father who now had a Beech Baron and lived near him in Connecticut. Several moves later, now living in Atlanta, Tim decided to build an airplane as the most affordable option for him to fly. He says, “I built a Progressive Aerodyne Searey amphibian that I now have about 330 hours in.”
According to Tim, the Searey has been a great sport airplane and allowed for many flying adventures. His wife likes the Searey, but has family in Texas and wanted an airplane that could haul them and their 72-pound Yellow Lab to Texas for visits and to Florida for weekend getaways. He says, “We decided that the Cessna 182 that we just purchased with the help of AOPA financial services best fit the bill for speed, comfort, and great useful load.”
Tim says he chose AOPA to help finance his Cessna 182 in part because AOPA made it so easy. He explains, “The website does a really nice job of laying out the process. A quick phone call got the process started and Kevin Show was an outstanding resource for me throughout the entire process. I joined AOPA shortly after earning my license in 1988, but I let my membership lapse when my kids were young. I rejoined in 2012 and am committed to being a better, more involved member.”
Tim says he would recommend AOPA Aviation Finance to anyone considering an airplane purchase. He says, “I started on the website. Once I chose the aircraft best suited for our needs, I placed a call to AOPA Aviation Finance. The AOPA Aviation Finance team was very responsive and helped me understand the many options available to me. I was assigned a representative who then walked me step by step through the financing, paperwork, and closing. Kevin Show communicated with me the entire way through the process and kept everything moving.”
Looking back at his experience with AOPA Finance, Tim says, “I think that AOPA made it easy for me to find answers to all of the unknowns of buying an airplane. The website and friendly human resources made it pleasant and easy to buy an airplane.”
If you’re looking to finance an airplane, contact AOPA Aviation Finance at 800-62-PLANE or visit www.aopafinance.com. AAF’s friendly staff will speak your language and take the confusion out of buying an airplane. Don’t forget that using AOPA Aviation Finance not only helps you, but helps AOPA in its mission to keep GA airports open and support your right to fly.
