Buying a used glider: the checklist

Before you start

Be clear about what the glider is for: local soaring, cross-country flying, competitions or club use. The class, the performance you need and your budget follow from that. Plan for more than the purchase price: trailer, instruments, insurance, a hangar or trailer space, and annual maintenance all add up.

Documents

Ask for the documents before you travel to see the glider. Complete paperwork is worth money; gaps cost time and money later.

• Logbooks and the aircraft's maintenance records, including component records
• Airworthiness review certificate (ARC) and its expiry date
• Flight manual and maintenance programme
• Current weight and balance report
• Records of repairs and modifications
• For motor gliders: engine and propeller logs and the hours until the next overhaul
• Radio and transponder approvals where your country requires them

Damage history

Ask directly whether the glider was ever damaged and how it was repaired. A professionally repaired and documented damage is not a reason to walk away, but it belongs in the price. Undocumented repairs are.

Inspection

Have the glider inspected by an independent, qualified person before you buy, and look at it rigged. Pay attention to:

• Gelcoat or paint: cracks, crazing and discolouration; refinishing is expensive
• Play in the controls, airbrakes and flaps
• Wing and tailplane fittings, main pins and bolts
• Tow and winch release, undercarriage, wheel brake and tyres
• Canopy: cracks, locking and emergency release
• For motor gliders: an engine run, the propeller and the extension and retraction

Trailer, instruments and equipment

Write down exactly what is included. Check that the trailer is road-legal in your country, how old its tyres are and how the glider is held inside. For instruments, check that the vario, flight computer, FLARM and radio work and are up to date, for example FLARM firmware and an 8.33 kHz radio. Parachutes and oxygen bottles have their own inspection dates.

Contract, payment and handover

Use a written purchase contract that lists the glider, its documents and all equipment included, its known condition and the handover date. Never pay in advance to someone you have not met; transfer the money when you take over the glider and its documents. Afterwards, register the change of ownership with your aviation authority and make sure insurance covers you from the handover day.