A friend of mine, whom I’ll call Tom (not his real name) recently put his aircraft up for sale. It’s a good airplane, reasonably priced, and dates from the late 1990s.

I got involved peripherally when I referred a potential buyer to Tom. The deal never went through, but over the course of the negotiations Tom sought my advice on several occasions. Of course, I was happy to offer any insight I could since Tom’s quite inexperienced at buying and selling airplanes. We all are until we’ve done it a few times.

There’s plenty of advice out there on how to buy an airplane, but not as much on selling one. I thought I would summarize Tom’s and my exchanges and offer my experience on selling recreational airplanes to anyone who might find it useful.

I’ve sold five airplanes in my airplane ownership career of 25 years, and not one of them was easy, but they all sold. The four biggest factors that determine who quickly your plane will sell are:

How saleable the airplane is. It’s true, some airplanes are easier to sell than others. A two-place airplane that can carry passengers, in any registration category, is much more attractive than a single-seater. Period. Side-by-side seating sells more quickly than tandem seating. Period. We pilots simply love to share our flying with others. Very specialized or niche airplanes, such as super STOL types or aerobatic planes can also be tough to move from your hangar.

Selling a plane is a matter of timing and there’s only a little we can do about that. For instance, it’s tough as hell to sell a plane in the late fall and winter months in Canada. No big mystery there. And on top of that, the right buyer has to see it at the right time. That’s something a seller can’t control but can influence. More on that later. Selling an airplane takes patience, especially when it comes to recreational aircraft.

Advertise, of course, but other than having everything ready to respond when you have an inquiry on the plane, there’s nothing else you can do. Airplanes are specialty items and it’s a relatively small buyer’s market. Price. A smart buyer will have a budget or a price range that works for them, and if your plane fits in that budget, and it’s what he’s looking for, and if he knows about your plane, you might have a chance. Tough economic times mean fewer dollars to spend on toys. Ironically, a strong economy can also be a hindrance to selling recreational planes since buyers may have more disposable cash on hand and want to spend it on higher end aircraft. Advertise. Start with your local flying club and maybe neighbouring ones. Also make up posters including clear large photos of the plane plus your contact information, and post them at every airport you can get to. Leave at least one in your plane and have it visible in a window anytime your plane is on a ramp somewhere. You might just reaching the guy who buys your plane.

Advertise online. Here is a list of sites that I’ve used or accessed in the past. http://www.barnstormers.com By far, the most response activity comes from here. http://www.tvsac.net The Thompson Valley Sport Aircraft Club in Kamloops. Free and also very widely accessed. http://www.copanational.org COPA, you should be a member anyway. http://www.upac.ca The Ultralight Pilots Association of Canada. Free advertising and a really good classifieds section for more than just ULs, too. http://www.producer.com The Western Producer, a long-time farm and ag magazine. A lot of farmers’ fly. http://www.kijiji.com I’ve no experience with this site but others have had good luck with it. Type-specific forums that cater to a given make or series of airplanes. http://www.vansairforce.com is a good example.

There are other aircraft classified ad sites out there so a bit of research will help you decide if they’re right for the plane you’re selling.

Once you’ve placed your ads, be ready for inquiries (educate yourself on what a scam looks like) and to send a sales package about your plane.

Your sales package should include a very detailed document about the plane. No detail is too small to include. Cover all the following things:

The plane’s history, right from the kit and where it came from. Include who built it, when it was granted a permit to fly, and where that all happened. Include any info on the builder(s), like if he or she was an aircraft engineer, an experienced builder and this was their third or fourth plane; that sort of thing. This speaks to the plane’s overall integrity and the depth of its history.

Cover the maintenance and/or upgrade history. Include things like instruments, radios, prop, engine changes and major engine or airframe work. Talk about who did the work, especially if it was a professional or very experienced amateur. Again, this information adds value and credibility to the plane and to you as an honest seller for providing it.

Talk about how the aircraft has been kept. Has it always been hangared, lived in a dry climate or kept in a heated or dry hangar?

How has the airplane been used? Has it been used in a flight school, or just for personal use?

How often has it been flown? Sitting idle is very hard on a plane. The log books will show the periods of inactivity so be prepared to address that if you have to.

Talk about the quality of the log keeping. That can add a lot of value and confidence for a buyer.

Talk about any current maintenance issues.

When was the last annual done and who did it? Anything a buyer will want to know about such as the fabric, engine condition or any corrosion issues, should be addressed in your document.

Again, this shows your honesty and it narrows down your buyer list. No reasonable buyer expects an older and well-used plane to be in factory new condition. If they do, and I’ve dealt with idiots like that, they’re going to waste both your time and theirs.

Talk about the flying characteristics. How does it fly? For example, do you have to lead a turn slightly with rudder; what is the takeoff distance and climb rate at various configurations, temperatures and runway/field surfaces? Talk about your experience with its special capabilities like STOL or aerobatics, its ruggedness, comfort and load carrying.

If it’s relevant, highlight the fact that it can carry two people, and if it’s a homebuilt and that an owner can do their own maintenance.

Conversely, if the plane is a basic ultralight, mention that, too, and the fact it cannot legally carry a passenger. All the planes I’ve sold have been ULs and making this point to a potential buyer up front has saved me, and them, no end of time and grief if they were looking for something to take up a buddy. Better to make all that clear early on.

If the plane has a Rotax 912 series engine, some people looking at your ads will have little or no experience with it. This is especially true of older pilots who are stepping down from heavier iron to something a little more affordable. Inform them that it is a 4-stroke engine with every bit of reliability and longevity as a Continental or Lycoming, but with lighter weight and better fuel efficiency. Highlight the fact that a version of the 912 is used in military drones and that parts are easily available.

Talk about how much fun your plane is to fly and what you can do with it. Give examples of your airplane type’s capabilities. For instance, when I sold my Merlin, I bragged about how I flew it to San Francisco and back, as well as to so many other places. It really made an impact.

Also direct them to links on Youtube. I did this for my Merlin sales pitch and highlighted Andy Gustafson’s airplane videos as well as my own. You’ll be e-mailing this document, so it’s easy to copy and paste the links into the document.

Also address why you’re selling the plane. Everyone has a different reason. There may be changes in your life or financial situation. Perhaps you want to move on to a different airplane. Maybe you’re just not flying it enough and don’t want to see such a good plane sit idle. Your reasons are your own, and you don’t have to go into private details, but a buyer is definitely going to ask.

Include lots of photos in your document that show detail. Small, hard to see pictures will just mean a potential buyer will ask you for better ones, which will eat up more of your time and cause concerns about your credibility. If you don’t know how to include photos in a document, or how to e-mail them with the document, find someone to help you with it. Quite frankly, buyers very much expect emailed photos to be available right away. Talk about your pricing and how negotiable it is or isn’t. Be up front about your thoughts on people trying to low-ball you. That will weed out a bunch of jerks right off the top.

Remember, a deficiency in the airplane is not necessarily a deal breaker. It may provide room for negotiation, but being up front about it speaks volumes about your honesty in the deal and inspires so much more confidence in a buyer. That’s absolutely crucial in selling an airplane.

The whole point of this document is to try and answer up front all the questions a prospective buyer will have. You need to be open and honest about the plane right from the start because if it comes out later that something was hidden or misrepresented a couple of things will happen. One, you lose credibility, and you won’t get it back. Two, the buyer will be scared wondering what else is not being made clear. And three, you will both have wasted a lot of time. Besides, if you’re honest you don’t have to remember anything but the truth, which is easy.

It can take a while to put all this together, but it’s very well worth it and it actually allows you to take much better stock of the airplane, too. It’s surprising how valuable that can be when you’re selling a plane.

A buyer may want a pre-purchase inspection. You may consider paying for this yourself and including it in the price of the plane. That way, it’s already done and saves a lot of time. Highlight this fact in your sales document and make sure it’s done by a professional who can be accessible to a buyer when he wants to talk to him. Try and choose an engineer that knows the plane well.

When you have an inquiry on the plane simply send this pre-packaged document. The person inquiring will read it and will be impressed at your level of thoroughness and preparedness, as well as the amount of information you provide. Then, they’ll either be further interested or not. Either way, you’ve saved yourself a whole bunch of time and helped narrow down the field of potential buyers quite well.

The buyer will then contact you again if they want to confirm something, have more questions, or wants to see the plane and/or go for a ride. Then you can take it from there.