The demo flight and aircraft acceptance

The price spread within a single model year on the Bombardier Global 6000 runs to $4–6 million, by my information. That difference is visible on the apron, in the cockpit and in the air — over the three to four weeks of engineer's work that the buyer pays for.

I go through how a demonstration flight differs from a pre-purchase inspection, who stands next to the aircraft, what ends up in the paperwork and which findings turn into a discount.

Two different events

The demo flight is arranged by the seller. The buyer sits in the cabin, looks at the finish, listens to the noise at cruise altitude, judges the aircraft on his own typical route. A flight like that carries no legal consequences.

The pre-purchase inspection comes after the letter of intent and the deposit. The aircraft is ferried to a service centre approved for the type, opened up and checked against a programme. The flying day inside the inspection is the acceptance flight, and its result goes into the report.

A buyer who has flown the demo and decided he has seen the aircraft signs the contract without a list of findings. From there on, whatever turns up is his expense.

What gets checked on the apron

Skin and traces of repairs, whether the paint matches the records, the state of the glazing, wear on the landing gear and tyres. Then the access panels and covers come off: structural members, corrosion, wiring and plumbing in the areas routine maintenance never looks into.

The weak spots are known by type. On the Hawker 800 family they are corrosion of the wing and the rear pressure bulkhead, plus the landing count: cycles are what matters here, and an aircraft past 8,000 landings requires a life-extension programme.

The engines and the auxiliary power unit are borescoped, with the time remaining to the next removal and the status of the hourly-cost programme checked against the records.

What gets checked in the cockpit

The avionics fit against what the listing says: ADS-B Out, FANS 1/A, CPDLC, RVSM. Every missing item has a retrofit price. Then come the ground runs of the systems: hydraulics, electrics, air conditioning, anti-icing, emergency equipment.

What only shows in the air

▪️ Cabin pressurisation: building the pressure up and holding it at cruise altitude.

▪️ The engines through the power settings, and whether the indications on the two agree.

▪️ Autopilot and autothrottle: holding altitude and heading.

▪️ Communications and satellite internet at real ranges.

▪️ Noise and vibration in the cabin — what no paperwork records.

▪️ Approach and landing: how the thrust reversers and the brakes work.

Who is present

On the buyer's side, the engineer he has hired and a representative for the records. The work is done by the service centre. The seller sends his own man: he confirms how far the aircraft is opened up and signs off the findings. The acceptance flight is flown by a crew rated on the type, with an observer for the buyer.

One condition is settled before the deposit: the buyer chooses the service centre, and it has no commercial ties to the selling side.

What goes on record

The list of findings with the work costed out item by item. Entries in the airframe, engine and component logbooks. Compliance records for airworthiness directives and service bulletins. The acceptance flight report.

An aircraft going onto the Russian register adds a procedure of its own: the individual airframe is admitted on an aircraft assessment report from an accredited organisation, and the condition assessment may include a check flight.

I have been through this procedure myself: I brought the HondaJet onto the Russian register, transferring it from the Maltese one, and brought the AW169 onto it as well. In 2014–2015 I oversaw the return of the technical records on 21 Transaero aircraft that were on lease.

Anything not in the report stops existing the moment it is signed.

Which findings turn into a discount

The figures are market benchmarks, by my information; the specifics are worked out for the individual aircraft.

Then the parties divide the list up: what the seller rectifies, what goes into the discount, what the buyer takes on himself. The order of that conversation is set out in advance, in the letter of intent. That conversation is what breaks the schedule most often.

What to avoid

▪️ An inspection run by the seller or by his regular service centre.

▪️ Dropping the flying part to save a day: pressurisation, autopilot and vibration are only checked in the air.

▪️ Verbal agreements on the findings.

▪️ A service centre slot booked after the agreement is signed: a centre can be full three weeks ahead.

The demo flight shows whether you like the aircraft. The inspection shows what you are paying for. The second one costs a ferry flight, an engineer and three to four weeks — the best-returning money in the whole transaction.

Working through a specific offer — ask in the comments.

Alexander Filimonov — business aviation: sourcing, acquisition and entry into service of aircraft.