Page 4 - Volume 17 Number 11

2 • TWIN & TURBINENOVEMBER 2013editor’sbriefingKeeping Up The PropertyI’m a painter. Not in the fine arts sense, but rather more in the industrial arts sense. We live out in the country near the airport, in a stark white house, with a white detatched garage, a white office building and the obligatory white wooden board fence. Which means I get to do a lot of painting.Keeping up the property isn’t something I necessarily like to do, but neither do I want to live on a run-down piece of property.Now, I advise people who are new to aviation that one needs to think of an aircraft as real estate, not a vehicle. As with buildings, planes can last a good long, indefinite time, as long as you’re willing to spend money on their upkeep. They will continue to serve their intended function, and you can even add capability, with upgrading. And they will always be worth something, because the basic structure doesn’t wear out.Neglect them, let rot set in, and, like an old house, the airplane can start to fall apart. If you don’t bring them up to code, they’ll be mighty hard to sell. The only place aircraft and real estate diverge is in the matter of location’s effect on value, since a flying asset can be readily moved. Even so, if an airplane spends too many years in a bad-for-its-health location, it acquires a sad history that can devalue it.And, as with my real property, some of the best money I’ve spent on my airplanes is what I’ve put out for a paint job. It mademy asking price go up a lot more than the amount I invested. Our flying “houses” just need care and occasional refurbishment, so don’t neglect their upkeep, if you want to preserve both your own and future occupants’ valuation. With fresh engines, some up-to-date panel gear and a bit of new paint, that legacy bird can still give service and stand tall in the marketplace.Whether you plan to trade it or keep it, a plane’s appearance is important. When somebody asks why I spend so much money on the airplane, instead of my house, I tell them “I can sleep in my plane, but I can’t fly my house to Disney World.”But I still hate to paint.This month, Kevin Ware is painting a verbal picture of his trip across the U.S. in a headwinds-besieged King Air, Dwight Jones tells us how mediating disagreements might be a better option than going to court, and David Miller reminds us not to neglect the passengers briefing. Capt. Kevin Dingman gives us a wealth of information about flying by the seat of our pants, and CFI Tom Turner reminds us to AFTA (Always Fly The Airplane).We’re also offering our annual holiday gift guide for your consideration, with choices for every budget and taste. We had fun putting it together, and we hope it at least gets you in the mood for shopping.LeRoy Cook, Editor