There's a service called PlaneFax. It's a daily email that goes out to all aircraft brokers and dealers and has for many years, in fact it has been around so long that we use to receive it by... you guessed it... fax!

The long and short of it is that if a broker has a listing or a requirement to buy an airplane, they'll list it on PlaneFax. The length of the listing ads vs the length of the wanted ads is a pretty good indicator of what is going on in the market.

Today's PlaneFax paints a picture of what we are seeing.

Listings:

JETS

2014 Learjet 75 Low total time and only three professional U.S. owner/operators since new, exceptional pedigree and a strong maintenance history. Ben Dow Contact by Email or +1 512-410-0295

Off-Market Lear 60 and 60XR Contact by Email

Off-Market Citation X Low Time, Winglets. Contact by Email

TURBOPROPS

OFF MARKET 2023 PILATUS PC-12 NGX 275 hours total time. Like new and highly optioned. $6,995,000. Contact by Email or +1 805-570-8224

Wanteds:

Wanted 2013-2017 Phenom 300 Looking for an off market Phenom 300, Garmin 3000, send options to aviation.sales@icarusaero.net. or call 214-722-4421 Contact by Email

G550 Fwd galley and engine programs a must! off market desirable but open to unlisted options too. Contact by Email

Wanted - CJ4 Exclusive Contract to Acquire $7M or less. For Immediate Buyer Contact by Email or +1 201-447-5455

Wanted - PC-12/47 Garmin Panel Required, all options considered, preference given to engine time remaining before OH. Contact Piedmont Jets with all options Sales Contact by Email or +1 770-233-7518

Wanted - PC-12 NG Will look at all options would prefer good engine times Steven Allen Contact by Email or +1 205-913-0079

Wanted - Citation Excel or XLS Engine Program Contact by Email or +1 205-913-0079

Wanted - Sub $5m Light Jet We are looking for a light jet below $5m Contact by Email

Pilatus PC-12 45 or 47 US 'N' - NDH - Contact: Dave Williams - Silver Hawk Aviation - Contact by Email or +1 941-376-1586

Wanted - Challenger 350 Steven Allen Contact by Email

We are not running any ads this week, but if we were, that would add the following:

King Air B200
Citation M2
Citation CJ3
Phenom 300

And you could have added to that, the Mustang, Citation CJ3+, and B200 King Air that we have put under contract in the last couple of weeks.

All of the listings except for the PC12NGX are markets that are dead right now.

All of the wanted ads are for airplanes that are hot.

This is why total numbers of jets on Controller are not a good indicator of market demand.

There's got to be a level where the hangar price just isn't worth it, this is past that IMO.

You could literally strip and paint the whole plane every year for less money.

There's got to be a level where the hangar price just isn't worth it, this is past that IMO.

You could literally strip and paint the whole plane every year for less money.

It was hyperbole to show how much money that really is. There's very little damage sitting on the ramp that couldn't be remedied/prevented etc for that money.
Pay to have it ceramic coated annually, buy a nice cover, replace the tires more often etc.

Convenience factor has a price and that varies person to person obviously.

I've always enjoyed the term "Off Market".
Isn't it by definition "on the market" as soon as you hit send and list it as available on PlaneFax?

"Off Market" = You "gotta know a guy/gotta pay a guy who knows a guy"

I've always enjoyed the term "Off Market".
Isn't it by definition "on the market" as soon as you hit send and list it as available on PlaneFax?

I know the PC-12 has come up repeatedly as an in-demand aircraft but $7 million?! Oof. Is that where they are now or are the Swiss tariffs driving Pilatus prices to new highs?

I can't afford a PC-12. The cost of capital alone is roughly $500K/year and you haven't flown a mile yet.

I fly a Citation V, vastly more economical to own, and way faster. A PC-12 in a strong winter headwind is a painful thing, you could be down to 182 speeds.

I suspect the PC-12 market will get a bump now that Pilatus has suspended shipments to the US over tariffs. Artificial rarity strikes again.

Mike C.

I don’t get the PC 12, it’s almost like the $600K A36 Bonanza. At the end of the day, it’s still a single engine airplane with a certain useful load and a certain speed.

You can have a fleet of Gently Used TarverJets or good used KingAirs for the PC-12NGX.

Clarification-
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I18EWPVvj ... ZmllbGQ%3D
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XyqS_WPRd ... VyY2hldmVs

The PC-12 is perfect for the 1 hour flight of 10 skiers to Courchevel Airport if you have a spare $7M.

Kind of a niche use case, though. Flying cargo/people to rough or weird airstrips is a good use of the PC-12, but for a typical "normal" flight of nice paved runways far apart, not really a great fit.

For fun, I analyzed flying to Courchevel in a Citation V and it seems doable if the runway is dry and the weight is low, say 12,000 lbs. Landing is more critical, you have to be on speed. Takeoff is less so and even works with an engine failure.

Using a flat runway, 0 C, 6500 MSL, 12,000 lbs, and a flat runway, from the book:

Takeoff: 2605 ft
Landing: 2700 ft

The ground run is about 1000 ft less for each, and this does not take into consideration the runway gradient or the use of TRs. So it should work.

This is just physics, not legality, and only a thought exercise.

Mike C.

Mike, is it the case that the SPE is not valid for international flying? I’ve been enjoying my Mustang, but I am struggling to find anything bigger that can work from my 4000’ home field without significant weight restriction.

A PC12 works, but I’m not looking to go back to props for transportation

Mostly.

The SPE says it is only valid in US airspace unless the jurisdiction you are operating in approves otherwise. A few have, but not many. I don't have a list. There are those working to see if Canada will accept the SPE since they have basically the same thing in practical terms.

Where do you want to fly internationally?

I've found it isn't too hard to find SICs that volunteer to fly along, but it depends on the circumstances. For international travel, an SIC would be useful, there's a lot of little extra tings going on on those trrips.


A Citation IISP (551) might do the job and get you TRs for short field work. It will be weight limited to some degree. And, of course, no one operates them over legal gross, do they? A 551 would seemingly cover anything a Mustang can do in terms of range and payload, and might do quite a bit more.

The 551 is more viable in modern times since you can do an avionics upgrade and drop a lot of weight. My upgrade dropped 380 lbs, a 551 might lose 250 to 300 lbs.

At 4000 ft, the CJ series works *if* the runway is dry. If not, could be limiting.


I concur, hard to go back to props and sub 300 knots once you taste the jet life.

A Piaggio might be sort of a compromise. I think it will do okay on 4000 ft despite it being a runway hog since you have prop reverse (and you don't require accel go/stop distances), and it gets you jet like speeds and altitudes.

Mike C.