When buying an aircraft, a pre-buy inspection is always recommended. A good maintenance shop or engineer will be able to see much of the aircraft’s history, how it was maintained and what repairs have been done and how they have been done.
Besides an engine and airframe inspection, it is also important to the inspection of the paperwork with the aircraft. You want to be sure all applicable AD’s have been addressed. It would also be in your interested to know which optional service bulletins are performed, why they aren’t performed.
Avionics installations, can be a significant part of the aircraft value, yet it is often overlooked during pre-buy. While all (visible) avionics is generally listed, it will be worthwhile to know the status of the avionics. Does the equipment function within tolerance? Are correct approvals available? Are equipment certificates available? Are there any AD’s of SB on the avionics? Are there AFMS supplements available, and if so, is the correct one applied? Are the correct boxes ticked? Could you use the installation in they way you would expect? Are the products still supported if you need service or software updates?
We have seen quite some new owners, who neglected an inspection of the avionics installation. Then having installations in their just acquired aircraft where there was a negative answer on one or more of the above questions. While this often can be corrected, it might cost thousands to do so. In some cases avionics have to be removed, as the installation not certified.
You might also want to think about any modifications you would like to do, before you buy the aircraft. In some cases the modifications or upgrades wanted, are not certified for that particular aircraft. Depending on the upgrade, this might be seriously limitation your wanted operations. A good example is that SBAS / LPV equipment that you want, isn’t certified for the aircraft you want to buy.
Any good avionics shop would be able to answer the questions above, typically within a few hours, depending on the complexity. You could use this results in your negotiation with the seller, and if you buy the aircraft, the engineer or avionics shop might be able to sign of a fresh avionics and pitot static test.
Feel free to contact JP-Avionics to discuss the possibilities.
