Airplane Repo

Inverted25

Well-Known Member
Discovery Channel stole my idea! New Series just watched the first episode. Pretty interesting stuff. I wonder how much involvment they have with the FAA since taking airplanes from secured parts of airports I would imagine would raise alot of red flags unless you notify the airport before hand your coming to repo a plane.
 
Yea they had to get a DAR to come out and give them a ferry permitt on a lear 31 they was way out of inspections. They must make some serious cash doing this. The guy is based out of Gary Indiana and has his own personal corporate jet to fly him and his repo crew to the airports all over the country to repo this planes. Doing alittle research on him it looks like he buys the airplanes from the lender for what is still owed, has his own mechanics fix any problems with them and sometimes he upgrades the airplanes, then he sells them himself.
 
I'm not sure if you guys noticed but his daily driver.....even in a snowstorm, was a Bentley. I say he's got a little bit of money!!!
 
When big sky went under, a good number of Colgan pilots were contacted to see if they would take possession of their 1900's and bring them home. From what i recall, they were offering serious money. I dont believe any of them ended up actually going though.
 
I've actually tried to get into airplane repo's. It's a very tough buisness to make the contacts you need. Most airplanes are not out of annual, or out of AD inspections because they are too new. But it is a fly at your own risk kind of operation. You take chances to get the airplane to where the bank wants is to go. But there is serious money to be made for a mission completed. If you work for the bank itself, they usually get your back when it hits the fan. But if you strike out on your own, well, you are on your own. One guy I contacted just flew out to the airplane in question and put a prop lock and a boot on them, and sold them like that. The hard part about repoing an airplane is always getting the logbooks from the owner. Most of the time it takes getting a court order to get them.
 
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