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I tried not to let it on, but I was sold. We grabbed a table inside the FBO to have a conversation. It was quickly obvious Justin was going to be a great guy to work with. We were able to have a very upfront, honest conversation in which I made an offer that Peter and I had agreed upon. Justin countered with a number only slightly higher. I told him I would have to clear it with Peter, but I had a feeling we could make a deal. Again, Justin being the ideal seller, suggested we take advantage of the fact that the airplane was in Wichita. If I could find a shop that I trusted to go ahead and do a pre- buy inspection, he would be willing to let that happen. I immediately had a place in mind – Clemens Aviation at 1K1 (Stearman Field) came highly recommended by both the American Bonanza Society as well as my father-in-law and longtime Bonanza owner. The stars continued to align, and they could squeeze us in for a pre-buy the very next day.
Things continued to move fast as I worked full speed, sending emails and making phone calls to ensure all of the paperwork was in place with the partnership, insurance, maintenance, etc. Then came the time to have a little fun. The airplane needed to move from AAO to 1K1 for the pre-buy, so a test flight was in order. Rebecca and I rode along to get a feel for the airplane, and we were both very impressed. It was fast, nimble, stable, and as Rebecca said, “It felt like home.”
The next afternoon, Justin and I met at Clemens Aviation to go over the pre-buy report. The inspection had been a thorough following of the ABS pre-purchase inspection checklist, and the findings were minor adjustments. The
report was so clean that Justin joked, “If you don’t buy it, I think the mechanic might!” We made the final agreement that night to accept the aircraft and proceed with closing the next week. Justin generously offered to leave 1RW in Wichita and rent a car to drive home to Texas. Adding to the convenience (and coincidence), our partner Peter had put his name on a list for a hangar at another local airport a few months prior. Amazingly, a hangar opened up for us the same week of the sale. Today, our airplane is comfortably situated just 10 minutes from our home.
Needless to say, the current state of the fast-paced market rings true by our timeline. From the moment I first saw the listing to the time we had a conditional offer on the airplane was about 18 hours. Add in the time for the pre-buy and flight, we accepted the aircraft in less than three days. If the stars had not so perfectly aligned, I honestly think this aircraft would have been another on our “could have been” list. And while the speed of such a large investment was indeed intimidating for us first-timers, it was thanks to the support of so many friends and family – as well as a top notch seller – that we continued to come back to the same conclusion: This was just too good to pass up!
Stay tuned for regular updates about our journey into aircraft ownership in future issues.
rebecca@twinandturbine.com
Covington
March 2021 / TWIN & TURBINE • 3