Aircraft Appraiser

Aircraft appraising is specialized valuation work at the intersection of aviation knowledge and market analysis. Each appraisal starts with a physical inspection and records review — logbooks showing total time and time since overhaul, maintenance entries, airworthiness directive compliance, avionics equipment, damage history, and current condition. Those details matter more here than in most appraisal disciplines because an engine with 1,200 hours can be worth dramatically different amounts depending on whether it's a mid-time run-out or a freshly overhauled unit, and buyers and lenders need to know the difference.

The market data side of the work involves tracking current asking prices, recent sales, and the factors that are moving aircraft values in different categories. Piston singles, turboprops, light jets, and helicopters each have their own supply/demand dynamics, and values shift with economic conditions, fuel costs, and fleet age in ways that require keeping current. Published guides (Vref, Aircraft Bluebook) provide baseline references, but experienced appraisers develop judgment about when published values need adjustment for condition, avionics, or configuration differences.

Appraisals are used for sales, financing, insurance, estate valuation, and dispute resolution. Each use case has its own evidentiary requirements — a lender's appraisal needs to be defensible; an insurance appraisal needs to document agreed value; an estate appraisal needs to hold up to IRS scrutiny. Understanding which standard applies (market value, replacement value, liquidation value) and how to document the basis for your conclusion is what separates a credible appraisal from an opinion with a number attached.