Page 8 - March19

each year the aircraft gets older and should be worth
less because of its age.
This is subject to deeper research; the reality is that
the King Air market is wildly complex. The variables
affecting value and resale desirability are incredible.
The King Air line has more available modifications
and options than any other business class aircraft (see
sidebar story for more information on modifications and
their values). Each option and modification affects the
value and desirability of that individual aircraft. Add
to that over 50 years of continuous production and the
challenge of understanding the King Air market as a
whole becomes a daunting one!
If you are in the market to buy a King Air and are
concerned about values, I would say you have a green
light. I don’t see anything changing dramatically anytime
soon. My second bit of advice is to hire an acquisition
professional to find an airplane for you; as I mentioned,
many of the aircraft that are sold are never advertised.
One thing is for certain, aircraft markets and values
rise and fall, but no other aircraft weathers the storm
of a world economy better than the King Air! KA
Chip McClure is the founder and CEO of Jet Acquisitions,
a Georgetown, Texas, based firm that exclusively handles
turbine aircraft acquisitions. Chip has over 15 years of
experience in the King Air market, including purchasing
and refurbishment.
6 •
­ KING AIR MAGAZINE “the King Air B200 market
… we continue to see a wide
variance in actual sales
prices, with some aircraft
selling above market and
some selling well below.”
The Most Modified Business
Aircraft in History
We routinely ask King Air operators what options
they would add to their aircraft and why, and
the following is what we’ve learned.
When buying your King Air, you probably figured out
pretty quickly that it is one of the most modified and
optioned airplanes in history. No other business type
aircraft has more available options. From engines to
avionics to airframe, the list seems endless. Add to that
the fact that each of these options increases the value,
or even worse in some cases decreases the value and
confusion reigns.
My goal in this article isn’t to explain what the different
options and modifications do for your airplane, but
instead what they do for YOU and for your aircraft’s
VALUE. I find that when you buy a King Air with or add
the modifications to your aircraft, and those options both
have a functional aspect to your mission AND increase
the value of the aircraft, you have achieved a win-win.
RAISBECK Engineering
I sometimes wonder how different the vulnerable
King Air would be without the efforts of men like James
Raisbeck, the founder of Raisbeck Engineering. The fact
that most of his modifications have been incorporated
into the current production aircraft are a testimony to
just how important they are.
In the King Air world Raisbeck options are highly
desirable and always increase the aircraft’s value.
Here’s a brief overview of their most popular King Air
modifications.
MARCH 2019