Purchasing a private jet can be an excellent investment. Not only do you get to enjoy convenient, hassle-free air travel, but you can sell the aircraft if your needs change and potentially recoup your investment or even make a profit.
However, a positive financial outcome depends on maintaining the value of the asset through careful, consistent maintenance. Failure to do so can result in a poor return and, more importantly, create safety risks.
This article provides essential private jet maintenance tips based on our decades of experience in the aviation industry and a deep understanding of buyer expectations and aircraft industry practices.
Regular Inspections: The Cornerstone of Effective Private Jet Maintenance
The key to a robust aircraft maintenance program is frequently inspecting the aircraft beyond the manufacturer’s recommended inspection program requirements. These evaluations cover the spectrum, from brief but careful preflight and postflight inspections to lengthy full overhaul assessments. Each plays a critical role in identifying issues as early as possible so they can be corrected before they evolve into more serious concerns.
The typical inspections for a private jet include:
Daily and preflight inspections
These checks are performed each day and before every flight by pilots or other designated personnel. They involve visual inspections of critical components, like tires, lights and fluid levels. Any issues discovered must be addressed before takeoff so that the aircraft is in safe operating condition. While that meets the minimums, top level flight departments also have their maintenance staff perform a preflight inspection prior to dispatch from home base. Post-flight maintenance inspections upon return to base are also a good way to identify issues and trends in an effort to avoid future aircraft dispatch issues.
Hours-based inspections
Like all aircraft, private jets must be inspected after a certain number of flight hours specified by the manufacturer or other approved program. These are more detailed checks of system operations, lubrications, filter changes and more. The frequency of these inspections is based on aircraft model and usage.
Calendar-based inspections
These are comprehensive inspections of the aircraft, covering the airframe, avionics and other systems. As the age of the aircraft increases, so does the content and depth of these inspections. Often, these inspections require specialized equipment and technician expertise. Extensive planning should be done prior to such events to identify and lock in a slot at a suitable service center as well as budgeting downtime and costs.
Hot section inspections
This type of inspection is for the hot section of turbine engines. It involves the assessment of components exposed to high temperatures, including turbine blades, nozzles and combustion liners. On most model engines, this requires removal of the engine from the aircraft and shipment to a preferred engine shop that specializes in the particular model engine.
Full overhaul inspections
These typically relate to engine overhauls and landing gear overhaul. Each aircraft manufacturer has a set overhaul limit for the landing gear on a particular model aircraft. Some are based on years such as 12 years after manufacturing of aircraft and every 12 years of life after that, while others are based on a number of landings such as 5,000 landing intervals.
Each model engine will have a different overhaul hourly interval. These can be costly events and good reasons to have your engines on a coverage program. Such programs have an hourly usage rate to which the owner pays the program and then when an overhaul or Hot Section Inspection event comes due, it is covered at no charge by the program.
Ensuring that these inspections are completed in a timely manner requires diligence, but the payoff in value preservation and aircraft dispatch reliability is well worth the cost and effort.
Beyond Inspections: Regular Maintenance for Private Jets
Identifying issues in the types of inspections above and correcting them is essential. However, ongoing maintenance is also crucial. It includes:
- Engine maintenance. Tasks like regular visual inspection down the inlet for bird ingestion or foreign object damage is essential. Monitoring engine performance parameters and addressing any degradation promptly is also critical.
- Battery maintenance. Correctly functioning batteries are vital for everything from starting aircraft to powering essential systems. Regular inspections can help you detect corrosion, ensure proper capacity and replace the battery if its condition warrants that action.
- Fuel system maintenance. Maintaining the quality of fuel and fuel tank cleanliness is essential for the safe operation of a private jet. Sumping the fuel drains regularly to remove water is crucial, as is controlling microbial growth in the fuel tanks to help prevent corrosion or issues with engine performance.
- Landing gear maintenance. Having landing gear that operates as designed is critical to safe landings and takeoffs. Frequent inspections and servicing of tires, hydraulic systems, brakes and wired system components help ensure proper functionality. This includes lubricating moving parts and replacing worn items.
- Exterior cleaning. The pollutants, insect residue and other contaminants encountered in every flight do more than adversely affect a jet’s aesthetics. Left unaddressed, these substances can corrode paint and even degrade a jet’s aerodynamic characteristics. Regular washing, polishing and waxing of an aircraft’s “skin” can enhance its appearance and preserve its performance.
- Interior cleaning. Frequent cleaning of the aircraft interior helps protect it and enhances passenger and crew comfort. Wiping down the cabinetry finish and leather surfaces specifically designed for aircraft interiors can significantly contribute to a like new appearance longevity. Beyond regular cleaning, periodic professional detailing and leather conditioning can help preserve the value of your aircraft.
Other Essential Aircraft Maintenance Tips
In addition to the regular maintenance outlined above, you can take other steps to ensure your private jet gets the care it needs. One is to enroll in a maintenance tracking program. On these programs, you can include additional optional inspections to keep your aircraft in top operating condition.
Another way to ensure your jet is adequately maintained is to ensure your flight crew and maintenance personnel are properly and fully trained. It is easy—but unwise and potentially unsafe—to assume that because you hire experienced aviation professionals, they will know how to care for your aircraft. That is not always the case, but you can ensure they understand their roles and responsibilities in maintaining your jet by getting them specialized training on your particular make and model.
It is also a good idea to implement a safety management system (SMS). These systems help identify potential safety risks, including those related to maintenance. So, an SMS can improve your safety profile while also providing additional insights into maintenance needs.
Maintenance as a Factor in Sales Transactions
A well-documented maintenance history can be a positive factor in a potential buyer’s decision to make the purchase. Or, said another way, the lack of maintenance records can make it harder to sell a private jet.
Attentive maintenance can also affect the purchase price. Buyers seeing that a jet has been meticulously maintained may be more likely to make a higher offer. In cases where maintenance has been spotty or poorly documented, a buyer might have concerns about potential post-sale expenses associated with getting the aircraft where it needs to be from a maintenance perspective, and consequently make a lower offer.
In the end, while inspection and maintenance costs might technically be expenses, it is also fair to say that they are investments in a more streamlined and potentially more lucrative aircraft sale.
Final Thoughts on Aircraft Maintenance and Protecting Your Investment
Private jets are expensive assets that require ongoing maintenance and upkeep. As the owner, you can decide how diligent you want to be in inspecting and servicing your aircraft. You can have your maintenance set up to just meet the required minimums. However, if you put a high priority on the value of your asset and travel experience you should have your flight department go above and beyond in the level of maintenance performed.
Consistent assessments at the recommended cadence and proactive maintenance are vital for ensuring safety, optimizing performance and preserving value. Keeping that in mind as you consider an aircraft purchase, budgeting for it and then executing your maintenance plan faithfully throughout your time owning the jet will pay dividends when you look to sell it years or decades from now.
At Axiom Aviation, we have deep expertise in aircraft maintenance, particularly as it affects private jet purchases and sales. If you are looking to buy or sell aircraft and need sales & brokerage, acquisitions, project management or consulting services, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your goals and learn about how we can help you achieve them.