Tracy is an aircraft appraiser with many years experience
With the average age of the General Aviation Fleet approaching 37 years* (near 50+ for piston aircraft) it may indeed be time to “renovate, update, modernize” your airplane. A modern paint scheme, new interior, and upgraded avionics will add value and can add nearly as much as the renovation costs. However, knowing exactly what to add and how to add that value is not simple. It is very easy to add much more than what can ever be recovered. An “over improvement” simply costs money while adding just a small amount to the market value. Thus the ROI (return on investment) can easily be lost. In most cases that does not have to be the reality. Done correctly much of that investment can be added to the market value and the ROI will be much higher and your aircraft more enjoyable and useful.What are your avionics worth?
Using us to help you plan your renovations can save you thousands in the final results. By evaluating your current aircraft and examining the value after the expected renovations you will know the “real costs” of the renovation. The before and after values are an important tool for any owner. We can even make suggestions based on known values of the upgrades that should and will return the most value. So before you start your upgrades, call us! Let us help you know the results of your hard earned dollars before you spend and know that the result is the expected return! Don’t make the mistakes that can be avoided. Remember, you can not make a 1960 aircraft into a 2012 or 2015 model no matter how much you might try.