There’s a lot of factors that go into being able to successfully handle an acquisition, the knowledge part is easily obtainable, so that’s not the barrier. There’s a lot of great airplanes that we don’t do acquisitions for, the reasons vary but one that is common is that we need to do enough volume of each model to maintain a relationship with the shop we are using for prepurchase inspections and it would be extremely hard to do any volume in the Piaggio.

The prepurchase is the heart of an acquisition, it’s where the rubber meets the runway between buyer and seller. To close transactions without our clients suffering a deal falling through, we have to manage that prebuy visit very well. It is challenging enough with the shops that we use all the time, it’s really tough to go to a one off shop every few years.

The reality is to be really good at something you need to specialize in it, we already specialize in a lot of different makes, and models of aircraft, adding another is not as simple as it might seem. As a team we talked at length about adding the Cirrus SF 50 and we’re close to pulling the trigger. It will be the first new model we have added in years.

I’d say you’re way off base but prove it. And the counter is look at how much he’s lost in the last few weeks, on paper.

Chip,

You absolutely should add the BBSJ shortly before adding Avanti.

Avanti will have a new deep pocket committed owner very soon.

Piaggio fills a needed space of phast ‘nough and super comfortable ride.

What is a BBSJ

Big
Beautiful
Short
Jet = SF50

Mike,
My trusted friend that told me to go to SIM often
I went to sim 2-3 times a year the first three years mostly because I listened to you

BBSJ is a HIT with well healed single engine pilots.

Ahh, but the BBSJ will always be a bit of a thorn in Mike’s side, wont it Mike?

The Eclipse has the same problem the Piaggio has; market perception. Eclipse company ownership is stable, and parts and support are the best they've been in 10 years (arguably the best they've ever been), with a variety of upgrades available. Another niche airplane very beloved by its owner base, because nothing else will touch its combination of speed, service ceiling, and fuel economy.

What happened to those first gen Eclipses that didn’t take the 1m upgrade and got orphaned?

The new owner of the company was buying all of them he could get his hands on and upgrading them to the latest avionics and interiors. He operates a sizeable fleet of them in Europe.

The difference between the Eclipse and the Piaggio is the Avanti has been in continuous production for 35 years… 11 are on the line now.

I’d say you’re way off base but prove it. And the counter is look at how much he’s lost in the last few weeks, on paper.

Texas is giving Elon $17,300,000 to expand his Starlink facility. Couch cushion money for Musk, but Texas wants to support it's billionaires.

https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/t ... 0Wednesday.

Governor Abbott is turning Texas into a Tech hub, I am quite sure that chump change investment will benefit the State of Texas and its citizens many multiples of that.

Chip - are you serious? You actually advise your customers to do "prepurchase" inspections in your aircraft acquisition business?

Why?

I would respectfully disagree with your assessment that PPIs are "the heart of an acquisition" or "where the rubber meets the runway" - all a PPI is - besides a total waste of your customer's money - is a mirage that provides a false sense of security. If you continue doing this, one of these days you and your customers are bound to get burned especially if you start buying older airframes.

The scope and focus of PPIs is flexible and impossible to get under an airplane's hood when conducting it. While the "objective" is to evaluate the condition and value of an aircraft before the purchase, it is impossible to achieve this goal through a wishy washy subjective inspection without opening panels, inspecting/testing parts and components or following any formal FAA or OEM guidelines. It can also be conducted by any "Bubba the A&P mechanic", which boils down to a glorified and expensive way of kicking the tires. Even in the case of blatant oversights, a shop typically has zero liability for their findings or lack thereof.

If you are serious about assessing the condition of an aircraft prior to purchase, the only process I would buy into is (a) conduct a thorough logbook and records review including a review of the airplane's history, (b) bring along an experienced mechanic who know the make and model to perform a thorough visual inspection, (c) conduct a test flight with a pilot who is also experienced in the make and model and (d) if everything checks out, perform a phase inspection or annual inspection conducted by an FAA-certified shop with IA authorization, and which assures you maintain FAA compliance and airworthiness through standardized FAA/manufacturer guidelines. Any airworthiness findings are on the seller - everything else is on the buyer's account. Besides being the cheapest annual a buyer will ever perform, it is the only way to truly get under the hood. As an added bonus, the buyer gets a fresh annual out of the deal.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, but in general, this is the only responsible way to go, especially if you are advising customers who don't know what they are doing.

Plus - if you perform annuals with reputable shops or OEM maintenance facilities in lieu of PPI's you could expand your business to cover any make and model that comes across your desk.

Chip - are you serious? You actually advise your customers to do "prepurchase" inspections in your aircraft acquisition business?

Why?

I would respectfully disagree with your assessment that PPIs are "the heart of an acquisition" or "where the rubber meets the runway" - all a PPI is - besides a total waste of your customer's money - is a mirage that provides a false sense of security. If you continue doing this, one of these days you and your customers are bound to get burned especially if you start buying older airframes.

The scope and focus of PPIs is flexible and impossible to get under an airplane's hood when conducting it. While the "objective" is to evaluate the condition and value of an aircraft before the purchase, it is impossible to achieve this goal through a wishy washy subjective inspection without opening panels, inspecting/testing parts and components or following any formal FAA or OEM guidelines. It can also be conducted by any "Bubba the A&P mechanic", which boils down to a glorified and expensive way of kicking the tires. Even in the case of blatant oversights, a shop typically has zero liability for their findings or lack thereof.

If you are serious about assessing the condition of an aircraft prior to purchase, the only process I would buy into is (a) conduct a thorough logbook and records review including a review of the airplane's history, (b) bring along an experienced mechanic who know the make and model to perform a thorough visual inspection, (c) conduct a test flight with a pilot who is also experienced in the make and model and (d) if everything checks out, perform a phase inspection or annual inspection conducted by an FAA-certified shop with IA authorization, and which assures you maintain FAA compliance and airworthiness through standardized FAA/manufacturer guidelines. Any airworthiness findings are on the seller - everything else is on the buyer's account. Besides being the cheapest annual a buyer will ever perform, it is the only way to truly get under the hood. As an added bonus, the buyer get a fresh annual out of the deal.

There are a few exceptions to this rule, but in general, this is the only responsible way to go, especially if you are advising customers who don't know what they are doing.

Plus - if you perform annuals with reputable shops or OEM maintenance facilities in lieu of PPI's you could expand your business to cover any make and model that comes across your desk.