Newbee & soon to be owner

Hello all! I'm new to this forum and just registered today. I'll try to keep it short. I'm 45 years old and have been flying since I was 17, mostly Piper Warriors over the years. Have not flown for past 10 years for various reasons and have much to catch up on. I plan to fly with an instructor for a while to become proficient again. I also have a sixteen year old daughter who has just begun to take flying lessons. Very recently I decided to purchase a 1968 Cessna 150. This came about through a friend who is an A&P familiar with the plane and has been the one taking care of it for the past 10 years. The plane is sound and has been thoroughly checked out.

My question, since I've never owned an airplane before, is I'm unsure of the paperwork process going forward. A licensed airplane dealer currently owns the airplane and they are telling me that when I make payment (including sales tax) they will issue a bill of sale and send a form to the FAA to register the airplane in my name. Before I make payment I also plan on checking the title, etc. My understanding is they have just owned the plane for a short period of time and they recently purchased it from the owner that my A&P knows. When I check the title is it possible it's not in their name yet since they recently purchased it...

In my mind the way I see this going is...when I make payment they will give me a bill of sale and a form will be sent to the FAA registering it in my name. As long as the title checks out and they have the right to sell the airplane - I assume all should be ok? I know that people open up escrow accounts and so forth but does one need to do that?...is the way I described the process ok or is there anything else I should do or ask for from the seller to protect myself and to make sure all is done correctly? We are talking about a $15,000 sale here.

Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated. As excited as I am about owning my first airplane, I'm concerned about the paperwork being done correctly and not have to count on the seller to inform me.

I'll fill all in about the airplane itself later as this is getting pretty long winded now.

Thanks for any help/suggestions.

On 4/25/2011 11:15 PM, flyboy150 wrote:

My question, since I've never owned an airplane before, is I'm unsure of
the paperwork process going forward. A licensed airplane dealer
currently owns the airplane and they are telling me that when I make
payment (including sales tax) they will issue a bill of sale and send a
form to the FAA to register the airplane in my name. Before I make
payment I also plan on checking the title, etc. My understanding is they
have just owned the plane for a short period of time and they recently
purchased it from the owner that my A&P knows. When I check the title
is it possible it's not in their name yet since they recently purchased
it...

In my mind the way I see this going is...when I make payment they will
give me a bill of sale and a form will be sent to the FAA registering it
in my name. As long as the title checks out and they have the right to
sell the airplane - I assume all should be ok? I know that people open
up escrow accounts and so forth but does one need to do that?...is the
way I described the process ok or is there anything else I should do or
ask for from the seller to protect myself and to make sure all is done
correctly? We are talking about a $15,000 sale here.


Congratulations in advance on your upcoming purchase.

You will need a bill of sale (usually on FAA form 8050-2) to send along
with an application for registration (form 8050-1) to the FAA.

I bought my airplane with a personal check and a handshake, but the
seller was local, and I got good references from mutual acquaintances.
If he was in another state, I'd have gone with the escrow service.
You might at least Google the dealer and see if you can find any complaints.

Make sure that the airframe and engine logs are complete and the annual
is current. Get your insurance lined up in advance.

The AOPA web site is a good resource for ownership information. If you
are not a member, it's a good investment.

Good luck!

Curt Johnson
N9681L