Page 26 - Volume 16 Number 5

long process that requires the customer’s frequent involvement and decision-making. However, he also builds on speculation for events such as Barrett Jackson, because there people can buy a unique car they want, without the wait and complexity of the project, but with the advantage of seeing the end product, rather than being limited to merely visualizing the final result.Cars and PlanesThe same overall scenario applies to airplanes. Should you buy an inexpensive airplane and take on the project of modifying it to your desired specification, or pay a higher upfront price and take delivery of one that has the appearance and equipment you are seeking?There are several elements to consider as you build and work yourway through this decision tree. You can approach the decision from a financial standpoint, from a personal desire standpoint, or from a resale/ investment standpoint.To define the realm of options, perhaps it’s best to first explore the extremes of the spectrum and then move toward the middle, where the variables become increasingly smaller. At one end of the scale, there is the lightly-equipped airplane that was specified solely by the original owner for reasons such as weight, acquisition price, or mission profile.The mirror image of that profile is found in the highly-equipped (sometimes over-equipped) air- plane that has considerable capability or redundancy but at the expense of factors such as payload capability, range, operating cost or high acquisition price. Either polar example will suffer at the time of resale, due to their uniqueness24 • TWIN & TURBINEMAY 2012