ALASKA

Take Wings
Mike Millard (PAED)
(907) 372-4900

" Recently I purchased a Piper Tripacer (and) had Mike Millard perform the prepurchase inspection. He did an absolutely outstanding job! When I choose to purchase a Tripacer I quickly discovered that their where very few qualified mechanics with any significant knowledge on the old birds. I flew Mike Millard to Ohio (and he) saved me thousands of dollars. Although the Seller's mechanic had already performed an annual inspection and certified the aircraft, Mike Millard discovered 4 cracked cylinders and multiple other major problems other mechanics had missed."

ARIZONA

" Frank told me several times that the purpose of this inspection is that I get the airplane that I think I am buying. He and his staff inspected everything on my P Bonanza that I was concerned about, and then I gave them the OK to look at other areas that they considered important. An example of what he found was some spliced skins on the belly and nose gear doors. (I did NOT notice these discrepancies until they were pointed out to me.) I knew that this plane had been on its belly before, but they showed me that even though the repairs were "legal", the recommended repair would have been to replace the entire skin. The previous owner was also impressed with what they brought to my attention including the fact that the airplane was probably flying out of rig. The previous owner gave them the go ahead to adjust the rigging. To his amazement, the plane flew about 5mph faster! He also commented that he would be changing his maintenance facility to Chandler Aviation when he buys his next airplane. "

CALIFORNIA

"The last aircraft I had them look at they only spent one hour on, and said 'Don't have us put any more work into this aircraft- it's not worth it.' They then gave me a list of squawks and explained the importance of each. I think they are very reliable."

"Experts with 32 years of Mooney experience...Aircraft test flown...Logs and paperwork checked by retired FAA inspector...Experienced A&P mechs look for known trouble areas...usually takes 6 hours"

"Here's a great place to have a prepurchase on your single and twin Cessna. Dave has been in the business for a great many years, specializing in Cessna's. He will represent the purchaser well and tell the purchaser if its a 'good buy' or not. I once witnessed him detect a damaged firewall on a Cardinal and the owner was upset that he identified this to be a problem. He let him know that he is inspecting this for the potential buyer, not the seller. The purchaser was grateful for the find and his thoroughness and went ahead and purchased the plane as well as have them do the repairs."

"In addition to being a Designated Examiner for new mechanics, Bill's got many years of experience with all types of aircraft right up through warbirds. He's thorough, knowledgeable and experienced."

"Kurt and crew performed an excellent pre-purchase (on very short notice) for my Mooney M20C. He really knew his aircraft, and took the time to explain each item on the squawk list. The people at Warren are really great to work with, and I'd take them another aircraft tomorrow."

"I highly recommend Larry Schultz at Genesis Aircraft located at Tampa Bay Exec, FL. I found him to be first rate. He did a very careful pre-purchase eval and even did a new AD on the flap handle for a very reasonable price. Mr Schultz was very careful and I have owned the Dakota for over a year with no major problems."

"Cole Aviation has performed 3 pre-purchase inspections for me, and kept me from buying at least 2 "dogs". Very experienced in Mooneys."

"John is very knowledgable with Grumman's and has done pre-buy's on Piper's and gone to TX to do a pre-buy on a Bonanza for a friend of mine. Real down to earth mechanic. Tells it like it is."

"I had Rick do a pre-buy inspection for me on a 1961 C-172. He is very thorough, he found several discrepancies with the airframe, engine and logbooks, gave me an estimate for repairs and his recommendations. I eventually bought another airplane that checked out good with good logs. I would recommend Rick to anyone wanting to buy an airplane."

MASSACHUSSETTS

Plymouth (PYM) Yankee Aviation Services- (Pete Conner) 508-746-5511

"Pete's an experienced pilot and a Designated Airworthiness Rep and really knows his stuff. I've had at least 6 aircraft done here over the years, and have been very satisfied every time. He always takes the time to go over every squawk, and I know exactly what I'm buying when I leave."

"John runs a top notch shop, with service next to none. On one pre-purchase his mechanic discovered an ELT installed backwards! The remarkable part is that this Cardinal RG had just come out of an annual from the seller's mechanic. Their no-nonsense pre-purchase "check sheet" approach lets the buyer customize the inspection."

"I had a pre-purchase done by Tony Kohler of Northwoods Aviation, Cadillac, Michigan and was quite pleased with the work. We backed out of a purchase due in part to what Tony found. He was straight-forward in his observations, told us what he observed, gave us his estimate of cost to fix and only gave a recommendation when asked to do so.

As a result of his work, we paid to have him travel to also inspect the airplane we eventually purchased. We've had it two years and his analysis proved to be accurate."

"Jewell Aircraft was specifically sought because of the high time engine on my A-36. The shop chief did an exceptional job of finding small but costly items which influenced the buy from a reputable (but stubborn) dealer."

"I've used Phil's services on two occasions. I was reluctant to get a pre-buy on the first aircraft because it just came out of annual, but I opted for it at the last minute. Good thing! Phil discovered the engine to be not approved for the aircraft, several AD's that were never complied with, a major repair that was never documented, and a bunch of other problems that would have added 10's of thousands of dollars to my cost! He traveled across the country to look at the second aircraft for me. This one turned out to be great! His research and documentation is detailed and professional. I can't recommend him enough."

"My experience here was great! Keith and his staff of very knowledgeable mechanics treated my wife and myself like we were family. I recommend this facility."

"Good experience. Easy to work with. I wanted to help with the inspection so that I could learn more about the aircraft I was thinking of buying."

"TAS did a through pre-purchase and saved me countless thousands of dollars and anxiety. Also at the same airport is Meyers Avionics, who did the avionics portion. Meyers was excellent."

El Reno (F28)
Skycraft Aviation (Roger Graves)
(405) 262-1360

"I have purchased five aircraft that Roger has done the pre-buy on and he has saved me (a lot) of money over the last 15 years. I wouldn't buy any plane until Roger has looked at it."

RHODE ISLAND

"Bill was thorough and got me in quickly. He pointed out stuff on the airframe the owner never saw. I was ready to buy, but thanks to him we passed (for a better plane)."

"Mark found ~$18K in additional repairs needed after the seller had finished the annual AND a separate pre-buy from a different FBO. They are very detailed but more importantly...Honest. (Mark will also let you work on the plane under his supervision if you want saving you some money.)"

"Scott's shop found all the little (and a few not-so-little) flaws in an otherwise very nice 150 I was purchasing long distance, even down to the type of rivets used on some sheet metal work. His shop's work struck me as being very fair and very thorough, and I'd use it again."

This FBO has been recommended by the Aeroprice staff. David is recognized as one of the top Grumman gurus in the country, and the place to have your Grumman pre-purchase done. We can't speak to FletchAir's performance with brand C or P airplanes, but from the thoroughness they've demonstrated on the Grummans, they'd most likely be a good choice.

"Very thorough inspection of the aircraft. Found bent ribs on horizontal stabilizer, undocumented wing damage repair, AD's not in compliance and included ball park prices of repairs. All on a recently painted, "pristine" aircraft! Wes will be moving to Clover Field in the Houston area soon."

" I used these people to perform a prebuy inspection of a Cessna 177B which, in my opinion, was very thorough. Based on their synopsis I elected not to buy that particular aircraft. I considered this money to be cheap insurance and will certainly use Joe again for my next inspection."

" Excellent Round engine mechanics-saved me a fortune-excellent warbird work-have kept my aircraft flying for years after everyone else told me parts no longer available-have seen other P-40, F-4F, Spartan Executive, Beech Staggerwing-and other aircraft I can't even guess at the names of- receive outstanding work there."