Buying Your First Airplane: A 10-Step Roadmap From Mission to FAA Registration

This is the purchase sequence for a first airplane: what happens in what order, who is responsible for each step, and how long each step usually takes when you're using a loan.

The 10 steps at a glance

Before you shop (steps 1–3)

Step 1: Define the mission

Write down what you will actually do in a typical month, not the once-a-year trip. Be specific:

• How many people and how much baggage on a typical flight?
• What are your typical and longest trip distances?
• Will you fly VFR only, or do you need IFR capability?
• Will you use paved runways only, or grass and short strips?
• How many hours a year will you realistically fly?

Two people plus bags on 200-nautical-mile trips is a different airplane from four adults in instrument weather. Mission drives the whole budget, from fuel burn and insurance to how much you'll borrow. The financial side of matching aircraft to mission is covered in choosing an aircraft for your mission, and model-by-model overviews are in the buyer and upgrade guides.

Step 2: Set an all-in budget

Budget from the total cost of owning the airplane, not from the purchase price. Here is how a $150,000 single looks with a loan:

For line-by-line ownership costs, see the operating cost breakdown and the realistic budget guide. To size the down payment against your cash reserves, see aircraft down payment strategies. Get an insurance quote on your short-listed models now. It is the cost first-time buyers most often misjudge.

Step 3: Get pre-qualified

Pre-qualification tells you the loan amount, down payment and term you're likely to get, and flags credit or income issues while there's still time to fix them. Through a broker it typically takes 1–3 business days. Do it before you make offers, so that your offer can carry a short financing contingency. What a pre-approval letter does and doesn't commit is explained in the aircraft loan pre-approval guide, and the questions an underwriter will ask are in aircraft loan application questions.

Finding and securing the airplane (steps 4–6)

Step 4: Search

Listings are on Controller, Trade-A-Plane and Barnstormers, and in type-club classifieds and word of mouth at your airport. As of mid-2026, used piston-single inventory was down about 17% year over year, with asking prices roughly flat (Sandhills Global). Good aircraft sell quickly, so having your pre-qualification done matters. Screen listings before you call:

• Total airframe time and engine time since major overhaul (SMOH) against the manufacturer's recommended TBO. See SMOH and TBO explained.
• Damage history, and whether the logbooks are complete since new. See how to read aircraft logbooks.
• When the last annual inspection was done, and the avionics installed, including ADS-B Out.
• Where the aircraft is located. Ferry and inspection logistics cost time and money.

Step 5: Make an offer or letter of intent

An offer is usually a letter of intent (LOI) followed by a purchase agreement, or a purchase agreement directly. It should state:

• The price and any equipment included.
• A refundable deposit held by the escrow agent. The amount is negotiated.
• Contingencies for a satisfactory pre-buy inspection, financing approval and clear title.
• Who pays for the pre-buy and any ferry flight, where the inspection happens, and deadlines for acceptance and closing.

Have an aviation attorney review the agreement before you sign. The signed purchase agreement is also what starts full loan underwriting.

Step 6: Independent pre-buy inspection

Hire an A&P or IA with experience on the type, who works for you and not for the seller. The pre-buy gives you three choices: walk away, renegotiate using repair estimates, or proceed. Lenders may ask for the results. What the inspection should cover is in the pre-buy inspection checklist. What it costs to skip one is in first-time aircraft buyer mistakes.

Closing and taking delivery (steps 7–10)

Steps 7 through 10 overlap. On a financed purchase, they all land in the same one-to-two-week window.

Step 7: Title search and escrow

An aviation escrow or title company searches the FAA records for liens and registration problems and holds your deposit and down payment. It collects the signed bill of sale (AC Form 8050-2) and any lien releases from the seller's lender. Funds move only when every condition in the escrow instructions is met. See aircraft title and escrow.

Step 8: Loan closing

Once the purchase agreement is signed, underwriting on the specific aircraft typically takes 1–2 weeks. The lender reviews the aircraft's value, the logbooks and the pre-buy results, the title search and your insurance binder. You then sign the promissory note and the security agreement, and the lender wires proceeds to escrow. Escrow pays the seller and files the paperwork with the FAA. The lender's security agreement is recorded for $5 per item of collateral. The closing-day sequence is in the aircraft closing process.

Step 9: Insurance

Insurance comes late in the list but must be in force before the lender funds. You quote it in step 2 and bind it for closing day. Lenders require hull coverage with the lender named as loss payee. What lenders typically specify, and what to add for your own protection, is in aircraft insurance requirements.

Step 10: FAA registration

You sign the Aircraft Registration Application (AC Form 8050-1), and it is filed with the bill of sale. The fee is $5, and the certificate is valid for seven years. Until the certificate arrives, the second copy of the application (the "pink copy") is your temporary authority to operate within the United States. It has no fixed 90-day limit. It is valid until the certificate arrives or the FAA denies the application, but not once 12 months have passed since the first application after the transfer, and it isn't valid outside the U.S. (14 CFR 47.31). Details are in the FAA registration guide.

A sample timeline for a financed first purchase

This illustrative schedule assumes a well-organized buyer and a responsive seller. Your search phase may be much shorter or longer.

How this guide differs from related guides

This page is the order of operations for a first purchase. For how aircraft loans work, including APR, LTV, amortization and lender types, see how aircraft loans work. For the costliest errors, with dollar examples, see first-time aircraft buyer mistakes. For whether you qualify, see aircraft loan requirements. For the pre-approval letter itself, see aircraft loan pre-approval.

Frequently asked questions