You and Your Aircraft Broker: A Dynamic Duo

SPONSORED CONTENT – Chris Kirk, president of WildBlue Aircraft Sales in Kansas City, has one inviolate rule when it comes to taking on a brokerage listing for his thriving business.

“Is it an airplane I would be personally proud to own and put my family in?” he asks. It’s a question that goes beyond mere rhetoric. Just as important as finding a strong, well-maintained aircraft is building a strong client relationship that stands the test of time—through one, and perhaps several, acquisitions.

“We don’t push, but I have had great experiences moving clients from Saratogas, Cirrus and Bonanzas into the Mirage/Meridian line. It’s great when we can find a good fit between an airplane and an owner,” Kirk says.

Kirk has some advice for sellers: In a business deal that’s every bit as complex as selling a house, it’s important to offer a sound, clean product, great curb appeal, and an impeccable pre-buy experience. Airplanes are a bit trickier because of paperwork demands, Kirk says. But even then, a seller can help himself if his ARROW requirements and user manuals are in good order. Logbooks? They are the coin of the realm.

“I have found that thorough, complete, and well-organized logbooks are a signal to a buyer that the airplane he or she is about to step into will be a quality experience,” Kirk says. His brokerage services extend to making sure everything’s in order, and gathering up any FAA 337 forms (major repair and alteration), so the buyer won’t encounter any surprises.

“This is the kind of due diligence that will move a sale along, and a seller needs to think in these terms well before the listing agreement is signed,” Kirk says.

Jet broker Steve Marchionda of SCM Associates in Penn Yan, New York, echoes Kirk’s eye for the meticulous. But in a scenario where buying a corporate aircraft is a C-suite decision backed up by a flight department, understanding a company’s mission is the key to finding the right owner-aircraft combination.

“If a company needs short-field capability and colossal range, that’s a signal everyone’s not on the same page,” Marchionda says. It’s the broker’s job to ask the hard questions that will refine this multi-million-dollar decision.

WildBlue Aircraft Sales and SCM serve a nationwide, if not global, clientele, and for that reason they need a way to market their services in a manner that offers clear targets, yet a broad reach. Brokers operating in all areas of aircraft sales will find this kind of sweet spot in Classifieds.avweb.com, AVweb’s new classified advertising service that rolls out officially on June 20.

The classified ad system is now in pre-launch, and starting May 31, aircraft brokers are invited to take advantage of the system’s two-month’s free listing offer. Go to the Start My Free Listings button on classifieds.avweb.com and place as many ads as you want. We won’t take credit card or bank information until August 20. Individual aircraft sellers can list their airplanes beginning June 6.

“AVweb’s classified system lives in an exceptional editorial environment,” according to Timothy Cole, chief content officer of AVweb parent company Belvoir Media Group. Belvoir also publishes Kitplanes, IFR, Aviation Safety and Aviation Consumer, iconic aviation media brands with decades of continuous service to pilots of all interest levels—from grass-strip GA, to corporate, military and space flight.

“We’re finding our readers come for the content, and stay for the classifieds,” Cole says. Watch for more announcements—and take advantage of our two-month free listing offer—as the official rollout date of June 20 nears.