Buy Piston

Piston aircraft suit training, personal flights and short legs up to 1,000–1,900 km: the Cirrus SR22, Piper Archer and M350, Diamond DA40/DA62 and Cessna 172/182. They are cheaper per hour and clear short, unpaved strips, but trail turboprops on speed and altitude. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

A typical piston carries four passengers over 1,000–1,900 km at a 200–350 km/h cruise; six-seat types like the Piper M350 and Diamond DA62 reach 1,800–1,900 km. Real range depends on payload, winds and fuel reserves. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

A piston is cheaper to buy ($0.3–1.4M vs $2–7M) and to fly per hour, but slower (200–350 km/h vs 500–600) with a lower ceiling. A turboprop carries more and flies farther; a piston wins on short legs and training. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

A new piston runs $0.3–1.4M: the Piper Pilot 100i trainer from $0.33M, a Cirrus SR22 around $1M and the six-seat M350 at $1.4M. Used prices are lower; value depends on hours, engine life and avionics. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

The standard path takes 6–10 weeks. Step 1: a letter of intent (LOI) with price and terms — 3–5 days. Step 2: a 5–10% deposit into escrow and signing of the purchase agreement. Step 3: a pre-purchase inspection — 1–3 weeks. Step 4: rectification of findings and price adjustment. Step 5: closing — simultaneous transfer of funds, title and risk, technical acceptance and ferry of the aircraft.

A pre-purchase inspection (PPI) is an independent check at a certified centre: airframe, engines, corrosion, records and compliance with airworthiness directives. It takes from 3 days on a turboprop to 2–3 weeks on a heavy jet and costs $15–100K — paid by the buyer. By market practice the seller pays to rectify airworthiness-affecting defects. A seller refusing a PPI is grounds to walk away.

The import budget depends on jurisdiction. In the EU the main items are any customs duty (most business-jet codes carry reduced or zero rates) and import VAT, which varies by country of entry (for example 19–22% in much of Europe). Registration in Aruba, San Marino or the Isle of Man under operation outside the EU allows a temporary-admission regime. We produce an exact calculation before the LOI is signed — an error here costs millions.

After purchase the aircraft must be entered into service: choose a registry (Aruba, San Marino, Isle of Man or a national one), sign a management and maintenance contract with an operator, enrol the engines on a programme (ESP/JSSI), arrange insurance, hangar and crew, and plan the first maintenance. We support all of these steps. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

Before a deal we check: title and absence of liens or leases (a registry title search), the full maintenance history and airworthiness-directive records, the status of heavy maintenance checks and engine time remaining, any incident involvement, and compliance with export rules. We organise this review and an independent pre-purchase inspection before any funds move. Send us a request — we'll prepare options, calculate running costs and analyse the best fit for your task.

Running costs depend on utilisation and aircraft class. Budget for fixed and variable items:

- Crew and support staff;
- Fuel and navigation charges;
- Maintenance and insurance;
- Hangar storage and airport fees;
- Management company fee.

A light jet flying 200 hours a year typically costs from USD 700,000 annually; a long-range aircraft on the same utilisation runs into several million. We prepare a cost-of-ownership calculation for the specific aircraft before you commit, so the budget holds no surprises.