Buy Aircrft in the USA and get them here

[old man emu]

A number of people have asked about buying aircraft in the USA and then getting them here. The following information and opinion was given to me by a bloke who brought in two fixed wing and a copter from the States this year.

 

1. Pre-purchase Inspection:

 

Contact www.bobhannah.com. Bob Hannah was said to be knowledgable and trustworthy.

 

Also contact Jeff Sharman (see below)

 

2. Disassembly and Packaging.

 

Jeff Sharman at www.jarlin.com This bloke exports all over the world. He's a South African. His business is based in Vacaville, California. The packaging is done very well. By the time you get all the timber that supports the aircraft out of the container, you will be able to make a good sized chook shed. The timber is all new stuff and presents no problems to AQIS.

 

Jeff will also do pre-purchase inspections and broker purchases.

 

3. Freight Handling

 

Gibson Freight is an Australian company that seems to be able to solve all the problems with Australian Customs and AQIS.

 

I don't know prices. I know that Sharman will put up to three smaller aircraft in a container, so you might like to arrange for your plane to wait until another one is coming and share the container costs.

 

As I said, this infomation is the opinion of another person. I have dealt with receiving adn unpacking planes packed by Sharman and sent through Gibson Freight. They both seem OK to me.

 

Old Man Emu

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I shipped my two Tornados myself. I organised the shipping and the seller loaded them into a container using a "rollback". I had never heard the term rollback before but that what the yanks call a tipper...

 

$4800 freight from airfield to Brisbane, includes the container staying @ the strip for 4 days

 

$3500 GST

 

$4000 to clear/unpack it from wharf

 

All in all, it was quiet stressful and I wouldn't do it again unless I was bringing in 2 really nice rv4s...

 

Its not until you get a container to Australia that you realise how uncompetitive our economy is.

 

 

[old man emu]

Change of Ownership of US of A Registered planes

 

There's something that you should be aware of when buying a US registered plane:

 

You as a foreigner can't own a plane that's on the US register. What you have to do is confirm the purchase with the seller, and then have the seller de-register the plane with the FAA. In the US of A each plane is the subject of a Bill of Sale and the FAA has a copy.

 

It's not a big to-do, but involves a great deal of trust between you and the seller. That's why it is probably best to make the purchase through a broker who is a US citizen or resident. They buy the plane; the bill of sale is transferred to them, tehn the broker takes the plane off the register and sells it to you.

 

Old Man Emu

 

 

[fly_tornado]

I was quoted about US$7k plus expenses to inspect, purchase and pack the plane into the container. With the way the dollar is now you can justify a blitz visit to the states to do your purchase. I ended up making the de-registration a part of the condition of sale and had the bill of sale witnessed. All the paper work arrived on my door 2 weeks after the money was in the bank.