Aircraft dealer records: logbooks and airworthiness basics

Most aircraft carry separate logbooks for the airframe, each engine and each propeller. Every entry records work done, parts fitted, hours flown and the signature of whoever certified it. A missing book breaks the chain.

Buyers read the books looking for gaps. A year with no annual inspection, a replaced magneto with no part number, or a total time that jumps backwards. Each of these invites questions and lowers the price.

Never rewrite or tidy an entry. If a correction is needed, the certified engineer adds a dated amendment. Your job is to store the originals and scans safely.

The airworthiness certificate shows that the aircraft met its approved design and was safe to fly when issued. It stays valid only while required maintenance is done and the aircraft is kept in its certified condition.

Registration is separate. It ties the aircraft to an owner and a national register, and it has its own renewal date and transfer paperwork. A buyer will want to see the current registration and any export certificate if the aircraft is crossing a border.

Authorities differ by country, so identify the regulator for each aircraft and ask them what a transfer needs. Do not guess from a previous sale in a different country.

Annual or periodic inspections are the heartbeat of the record. Note the date, the hours at inspection, the inspector’s name and any defects found. A clean run of inspections reassures a buyer more than any brochure.

Airworthiness directives are mandatory instructions from the regulator about a known fault. Each applicable one needs a logbook entry showing when it was complied with, by what method and whether it recurs. Service bulletins are advisory, but a careful buyer still asks about them.

Keep a running list per aircraft. When a new directive is issued, you can search by make and model to see which of your stock it touches.

A paper folder in a hangar office is fine until two brokers show the same aircraft to different buyers on one afternoon. Scan every page of every logbook at full resolution, name the files consistently and store them against the aircraft’s registration.

Add the supporting papers: weight and balance sheet, equipment list, flight manual supplement, radio licence, insurance and any lien search. Record who checked each one and on what date.

Give access by role. A broker needs read access to share with a buyer. Only a named person should be able to replace a document.

Serious buyers send their own engineer, who reads the logbooks against the airframe itself. Have the books ready, the aircraft clean and the hangar space cleared. Offer a short written summary of known issues before they find them.

Agree in advance who pays for rectification and how disputed findings are handled. Write that into the sales agreement. Start tomorrow by choosing one aircraft and checking its file for gaps.