Caveats for prospective buyers
Prices of older turbine airplanes are enticingly low these days, but there are some important caveats for prospective purchasers. One imperative is a prebuy inspection. “A prebuy inspection is a must,” says Adam Meredith, president of AOPA Aircraft Finance Co. “I wouldn’t buy any aircraft without a prebuy, a title search, and a fair purchase and sale agreement—and no bank should allow you to finance an airplane without the prebuy and title search, either.
“Prebuys should be done by a shop that specializes in the type of airplane you’re buying,” Meredith says. Typically, the prospective buyer pays to reposition the aircraft for the prebuy, and the seller pays for correcting any maintenance issues relating to airworthiness. Fixing any non-airworthiness items is usually up for negotiation.
That’s where the purchase and sale agreement comes in. This agreement is a binding legal document that specifies the sales price, plus conditions such as the amount of time to complete the prebuy, who pays for what, and who pays to move the airplane—among a list of other items. “As a participant in AOPA’s Legal Services Plan you’d have access to a panel attorney that can look over your agreement to make sure its provisions are balanced between buyer and seller, and applicable to your state laws,” Meredith adds. “And there’s one more thing to remember. Ideally, banks want a fresh annual inspection out of a prebuy, unless one has been completed recently.” /p>
Adam Meredith is president of the AOPA Aviation Finance Co. and is a commercial pilot.
Readback
FLCH, VS, or pitch mode?
Readers weigh in
The “Pitching for the Climb” article in the February 2016 Turbine Pilot provoked discussion. The intention was to provide stall awareness during climbs to high altitude, and an understanding that whether you use a vertical speed (VS) or airspeed-hold (variously dubbed FLC, FLCH, or IAS) autopilot mode, you’ll be closer to the stall the higher you climb.
Cessna Citation and Dassault Falcon pilot Steven Busch votes for using FLC, saying, “In VS, the aircraft may reach a condition approaching a stall, at which point, in most jets, the autopilot will disconnect.”
Wally Wallace said, “The real key is selecting a cruise speed range—be it IAS or Mach—that protects you from the stall regime, and not allowing the plane to go below the low end of that speed range. If you get too close to the low end of that range, you will not have enough power to accelerate back to a desirable cruise speed at your limiting altitude.”
Boeing 787 pilot and check airman Rick Nelson chimed in, saying, “I would advocate knowing how to use all available vertical modes, and I use them all, each at the appropriate time. But it would be very rare that I would advocate VS over FLCH when up at altitude. Better to vary my vertical speed and keep a constant airspeed then allowing VS to drive me into a stall.”
Cessna Citation Mustang pilot John Hayes wrote, “Flying at a constant pitch is a very safe way to climb all the way up to FL410. As you said, selecting a pitch attitude while at a lower altitude with a preselected FLC airspeed will work quite well. VS mode is there mainly for descent.”
True. Garmin GFC 700 autopilots in Mustangs allow you to fly a constant pitch angle during climbs. To engage it, press the flight director (FD) or autopilot transfer keys. Now you can adjust your pitch setting by using control wheel steering (CWS) to pitch to the desired climb angle, or using the glareshield thumbwheel.
Just keep the angle to no more than 5 degrees nose up—and keep an eye on the PFD’s airspeed scale for the “green doughnut,” which indicates 1.3 VSO. You don’t want your indicated airspeed to get too close, or a stall may ensue!
Erratum
“Mentor Matters: Appropriate Alternates” (February 2016 Turbine Pilot) incorrectly referred to an NDB approach as an ADF approach. Turbine Pilot regrets the error./p>
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