![]() ![]() I selected heading and flight level change on the mode control panel to keep our airspeed at 200 knots until we were safely in Class B airspace. After taking off, we cleaned up and were cleared up to 12,000 feet. There was a short kerfuffle as two airplanes tried to land in opposite directions at our non-towered field. We had an easy rapport I felt like I’d flown with Brian before. We taxied out using my old Part 135 CJ checklist. The weather lifted to a 4,000-foot overcast. On the ground, they look awkward and forlorn. The airplane had not flown in almost a month, a travesty in its own right. We checked the oxygen and nitrogen bottles. He was a nice, knowledgeable, agreeable pilot kinda guy. The next morning I awoke to dense fog, delaying our morning. The buyer was typed and current in the Cessna CE-525 model and had been added to my insurance policy. I got a text stating that things looked good-the only complaint was that the standby gyro battery was not testing as it should.īecause the airplane was still mine and under my insurance coverage, the test flight would be flown on the way to KFXE, and I would be the PIC. Hector and Mike stayed late to show the airplane and the maintenance logbooks. The buyer’s representative (I’ll call him Brian, not his real name) arrived on a Monday afternoon. Okay, I thought, at this selling price, I can manage that, I guess. “Might be as much as a Doc 10,” they answered, implying tens of thousands of dollars. “What should I expect to pay for ‘discrepancies?’ I asked. I was to pay for any discrepancies found by Banyan that required repair for the airplane to be “airworthy by manufacturer’s specifications.” If the inspection went well, the buyer wanted to avoid Florida sales taxes by closing in Charleston, South Carolina. I knew Banyan, located at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE), to have a good reputation for fair and expert work. The buyer wanted an impartial inspection done by Banyan Air Service in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. That left the matter of the pre-buy inspection and terms of closing. A buyer from California made a reasonable counter to my counter offer, and a price was agreed upon. My relationship with him is so warm that any possible shortcomings found by potential buyers were bound to elicit strong defensive feelings on my part.Īs I was beginning to wonder about our timing and pricing, things heated up. Hector is that rare find: He’s a true professional of vast experience and connections, possessed of an easy and reassuring countenance, and knows jets. Our airplane has been maintained by Tampa Jets’ inestimable Hector Flores. “Hey! What are you doing?” Airplane ownership and pride are personal matters. It looked as if the airplane was being carefully probed and felt like when your AME starts feeling your abdomen. All the hatches were open and the flaps were extended. I arrived at the airport just as Mike was showing the airplane. Another couple, whom I liked instantly, came to inspect it. A potential buyer arrived in his Eclipse, but disappeared soon after. Some didn’t even wait for a counteroffer. ![]() Low-ballers appeared quickly and disappeared almost as fast. A few offers came in, but they were risible. The hot market was cooling by the time I finally faced facts and consented to sell.Īt first, things were eerily quiet. Soon glamour shots were taken, blast emails were sent, and advertisements in multiple outlets were placed. Fortunately, our good friend Mike Shafer of JetVx agreed to broker this surrender and oversee our misery. Since single-pilot jet operations in our Cessna Citation CJ1 were no longer doable, my wife Cathy and I decided we had to sell our best airplane. ![]()
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