The Illustrated Buyer's Guide to Used Airplanes [Paperback]

Bill Clarke (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0071351795 | ISBN-13: 978-0071351799 | Publication Date: October 1, 1999 | Edition: 5

Used airplanes have greater investment value than most stock options. Their value continues to rise, and with it the value of this bestselling book. Completely new in this revision are: several new planes recently type-certified and entered into production; new ads and STCs; current prices; updated directory information; and a new chapter focusing on investment value - including specific recommendations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Get your hands on one of the hottest aircraft on the general aviation market! How? Bill Clarke knows how. By buying a used airplane! Here they are-all the latest and greatest models, plus the oldies but goodies. Over 100 airplanes are profiled in this complete illustrated guide to used airplanes, fully updated for the fourth edition. Clarke gives you all the info you need to comparison-shop and make a great deal for the bird of your dreams-without getting burned! Step-by-step, Clarke takes you through the process of becoming the owner of your own plane: prospecting the market; determining a plane's true value; closing the deal; "hangar-flying" the plane; deciding whether to have a partner-owner. An appendix has an up-to-date listing of typical used airplane selling prices. Negotiating a good price can be difficult-so Clarke has also provided a fully tested financial formula to calculate the best possible purchase price. But the Buyer's Guide doesn't stop there. It also covers what to do when you bring the airplane home: how to get the right insurance coverage... maintaining and storing your plane... where to go for repairs and parts... FAA Airworthiness Directives for specific aircraft and how to meet them. In an age when the world's most popular 4-seat airplane has been priced out of existence, and top-of-the-line planes' stickers are floating toward the half million mark, buying a good used aiplane is the smart alternative. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Bill Clarke (Altamont, NY) is a retired Washington, DC policeman. A long-time private pilot and ham radio buff, Clarke has written seven aviation consumer guides for TAB/McGraw-Hill, including the bestselling Aviator's Guide to GPS, 3rd Edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Professional; 5 edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071351795
• ISBN-13: 978-0071351799
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #870,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, September 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Illustrated Buyer's Guide to Used Airplanes (Paperback)

I highly reccomend this book for almost everything you need to know about buying that used aircraft! Along with the two volume Aviation Consumer Guide to used aircraft you have everything you need to know at your immediate disposal

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacked detailed info, March 26, 2002

By 

Timothy J. Briggs (Richmond, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Illustrated Buyer's Guide to Used Airplanes (Paperback)

I ordered this book hoping to get detailed info on a number of airplanes. It listed specifications, exterior dimensions, weights and fuel capacities for many aircraft but lacked any real details on individual aircraft models. The Aviation Consumer Guides are better and have more detailed analysis of accidents and aircraft systems. I returned it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Just the plane facts!, October 9, 2000

By 

James "software_rancher" (ALAMOSA, CO, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Illustrated Buyer's Guide to Used Airplanes (Paperback)

I am new to general aviation and was looking for information about the different types of general aviation planes: what they look like, how they perform, and a ballpark estimate on how much they cost. (I'm not seriously planning to buy one (not yet anyway), but price is a useful piece of information). This book delivers all that.

The book could be improved by providing a few more photographs and by including a few more pieces of data for each plane (e.g., cruising range, ceiling, fuel consumption, Vmc, etc.). Another improvement would be to increase the information in the narratives for each type of plane, better describing flying quirks and typical problems for the purchasers (e.g., expensive ADs, commonly found damage, etc.); detailed narratives like those contained in the dated "Buying and owning your own airplane" by J. E. Ellis would be a benefit. With these few improvements, the book would be perfect.