Find A Fact

10 Best Ways to Justify Your Airplane Purchase
by: This Month's Noise

For those of us who've caught the "aviation bug" finding a way to justify the purchase of an airplane becomes an all consuming mental task. Make this task simple by choosing the appropriate reasons from the list below:

1. The airplane will make money for me.

This one actually works! Learn about leasebacks and/or using your airplane in your business by visiting: http://www.airplanenoise.com

2. My business will benefit from my increased productivity when I fly instead of drive.

Save time and money by flying yourself! You can avoid hours at the security gate and layover time by flying yourself. Most regional trips will be completed in a fraction of the time youâ€™d spend driving or flying commercially. Learn more by visiting: http://www.airplanenoise.com/answers_to_why.htm

3. The airplane will keep my family together.

Many people find their children off to college and their parents staying in the south. A personal aircraft allows you to stay in contact and maintain the relationships that are so important to you. After all. . . is there anything more important than our relationships with our family and friends?

4. Learning to fly provides a new challenge.

Most of us have dreamed about flying since our childhood. What is preventing us from taking that step? Life is too short to procrastinate!

5. I can vacation every weekend!

No doubt, every weekend can be earmarked for a new destination. Start with you own state, and expand to other states. Visit museums, recreation areas, friends . . . the sky is the limit! Start with this list: http://www.airplanenoise.com/great_trips.htm

6. I can make an airplane payment instead of an IRS payment!

With minimal business use (30%), your airplane purchase may be a depreciable asset. New tax laws significantly increased the tax benefit to owners. Learn more by downloading a FREE audio TeleClass at: http://www.airplanenoise.com/download_teleclass.htm

7. I can enhance my children's educational experience.

Children learn more from an experience rather than sitting in a classroom or reading a book. Trips to Washington D.C., Niagara Falls, Gettysburg, PA, Kitty Hawk are all great reasons to fly the family. Re-live your childhood at the same time.

8. Flying as therapy?

Well, believe it or not, some people fly for its therapeutic benefits. Life's problems seem to disintegrate as altitude increases. Try it next time you are feeling overwhelmed by life's challenges!

9. An airplane is a terrific status symbol.

If status is what you are looking for. . . you can't beat an airplane. Not only are pilots looked up to, but when it is your own airplane. . . You have arrived! No one even needs to know that the airplane is generating a positive cash flow.

10. I just WANT one!

Sometimes we just need to satisfy or desires! I am worth it. I have worked hard and this is my reward. I only live once!

I know you can add to this list!

About the Author Pat Redmond, Brighton, Mi usa airplanenoise[at]airplanenoise[dot]com http://www.airplanenoise.com Pat Redmond, helps business owners who are tired of long lines and baggage claims, fly their way to freedom! Enjoy dinner with your family tonight! To learn more about the General Aviation Business, sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.airplanenoise.com

ADDRESSING SAFETY WITH NEW AVIONICS
by: This Month's Noise

"How safe is it?" Along with "How much does it cost?" this is a question we often hear when someone is considering flight training as an option for depleting his or her discretionary income. Our industry has experienced a marked reduction in overall accidents and statistically, a 27.8% reduction in the most recent 7 years! During this same time period General Aviation fatal accidents dropped 32.6% to just over 1 fatality for every 100,000-flight hours. Of these accidents, 80% are either partially or completely pilot induced, with weather related accidents and controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accounting for the majority of fatalities.

So what is the industry doing to address the issue of pilot errors?

Bendix/King has taken the bull by the horns and addressed this challenge with several new avionics products, and Cessna has taken the next step by including the Bendix/King advanced avionics package in their aircraft.

Situational Awareness: With its moving map and IFR approach capability, the KLN94 GPS provides added safety through increased situational awareness. This GPS with its full color screen is as easy to operate, as it is to view.

Weather: Bendix/King Data Link Weather features a state-of-the-art data link system to bring textual and graphical weather to your cockpit with a high speed, high bandwidth system. With the KDR 510, weather information (including METARs, TAFs, and PIREPs) is automatically updated and displayed on your KMD 550 (multi-function display) in your cockpit. For a small monthly fee, you can also receive NEXRAD radar and additional weather products that promote additional weather avoidance capability.

Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT): The KMH 880 Multi-Hazard Awareness System combines traffic and terrain avoidance features in one unit. Combined with the KDR 510 and displayed on the KMD 550, you can have all the situational awareness available to ensure an up-to-the-second picture of your flight situation.

Workload Reduction: The KMD 550 Multi-Function Display (MFD) lets you spend less time looking at your instruments and more time flying your aircraft. The system gives you the information you need without added clutter, all while reducing the time required to manage each safety system. Along with its capability to display traffic, weather, terrain and moving map information, the KMD 550 also provides a wealth of reference information to the pilot including airports, NDBs, intersections, VORs, special-use airspace, victor airways, rivers, roads, lakes, cities and towers. When interfaced to the KLN 94, the KMD 550 can also display holding patterns, procedure turns and DME arcs for even greater situational awareness. Most importantly, this MFD is simple to use and sports a bright, razor-sharp display!

So, how much safer can General Aviation become? It seems to me that the sky's the limit! Who would have guessed that today's General Aviation aircraft would have these capabilities? And I suppose the question follows . . . â€œWhat else is possible? Link: http://bendixking.com

AIRCRAFT OWNERSHIP: IS THE TIME RIGHT?
by: This Month's Noise

In the hours and days immediately following the tragic attacks on America of 9/11, there was much speculation about the effects on the general aviation industry. While the events of September 11, 2001 have had a significant impact on the economy as a whole, sales of personal aircraft in Michigan have experienced a surprising boost. Certainly, the convenience of personal transportation has played a major role in this increase as airport lines and security have become more time consuming. The reduction of flights resulting from the airline cost-cutting have limited flexibility for the business person and affected the productivity of companies relying on commercial transportation. These factors alone can't explain surge of people joining the flying community for more than just pleasure. Rebates, low and 0% interest rates, training allowances, and yes, even the IRS played a role in creating an environment that has introduced more people to the benefits of aircraft ownership and had an effect similar to that seen after the passage of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1995.

The IRS is here to help you? Well, believe it or not, a new tax law passed earlier this year represents a renewed attempt by our nation's leaders to jumpstart the economic recovery. The bill applies to new airplanes acquired after September 10, 2001, and before September 11, 2004, and provides tax savings from economic stimulus provisions included in the Internal Revenue Code designed to encourage investment in capital assets. Visit your local airport and you're sure to see plenty of forty and fifty year old aircraft operating for both business and pleasure. Even prior to the new tax law, Congress recognized that capital investment is an important part of our economy, and therefore allowed a five year depreciation of these assets. To further encourage investments, they do not require the depreciation to be spread evenly over the five years, but through a concept know as double declining balance, a greatly accelerate depreciation during the first two years of ownership. Now with the additional incentives of 30% bonus depreciation on new airplanes, tax deferral opportunities are greatly expanded.

So how might a business person benefit from these new changes? First of all, the impact of these depreciation changes greatly reduce net cash investment for the purchase of a new airplane. Specifically, an operator in the 40% tax bracket who can successfully write off his aircraft ownership expense may have no cash investment in the airplane during the first four years. Additionally, when properly structured, many taxpayers have an opportunity to convert personal use into business use. The Internal revenue code provides an optional method of taxing an individual for personal use of an aircraft which many times amounts to less than 10% of the actual deductions flowing from the investment. Consult your tax professional prior to purchasing your new airplane or ask your Aircraft Dealer for the name of an Aviation Tax Specialist to set up your purchasing entity.

And you say you are not a pilot? Local aircraft dealers like Suburban Aviation, Inc. in Lambertville, Michigan will actually teach you to fly your new airplane and even reimburse your expenses when you purchase a new Cessna airplane from them. Most of today's pilots learned to fly in a Cessna airplane and the majority of these pilots continue to experience the freedom and flexibility that flight offers in one of Cessna's many single engine models. For 75 years, Cessna has been the leader in general aviation aircraft providing a safe and reliable alternative to commercial airlines and the automobile.

So if your business can benefit from improved efficiency and tax savings, why not consider a company airplane? There are few tax saving opportunities as effective as fully depreciating an aircraft on a five year accelerated basis, and with today's interest rate environment, a well-structured transaction often results in little or no after tax cash flow holding costs during the early years of ownership. Of course, arriving at your meeting on time and with all your luggage can also be pretty convincing!