How to read an aircraft advert
The terms below appear across the 7,991 listings currently on PlaneFox, and each one is a question to put to the seller. Figures quoted here were taken on 7 August 2026.
TBO, time between overhauls
The manufacturer's recommended interval between engine overhauls, published in hours and usually in calendar years as well. Lycoming's Service Instruction 1009BF, revised 20 July 2026, puts most of the O-360 and IO-360 family at 2,000 hours when overhauled and 2,600 hours when factory new or factory rebuilt, and applies a twelve calendar year limit to every model it covers. Continental's service information letter SIL 98-9 lists the O-470 family at 1,500 hours and twelve years, with the O-470-U eligible for 2,000 hours only when specific components are fitted. Rotax took the 912 series to 2,000 hours or 15 years in service bulletin SB-912-057UL and the 914 series in SB-914-039, in both cases only above a stated serial number and only once the listed bulletins have been complied with. Read the current revision of the document that covers your exact dash number rather than a family figure. Under FAA Part 91 private operation the TBO is a recommendation rather than a legal limit; under commercial rules it is enforced. Either way it sets the reserve you should put aside per flight hour.
SMOH, since major overhaul
Hours flown since the engine was last overhauled. A low SMOH is only good news once you know who did the overhaul and to what standard. Factory new, factory remanufactured and field overhaul are three different things at three different prices, and accessories such as magnetos, the fuel pump and the turbocharger may or may not have been overhauled at the same time. Ask for the overhaul work pack, not just the number.
SNEW, since new
Hours on a component since it left the factory. On an engine that has never been overhauled, SNEW and SMOH are the same figure. On an engine that has been overhauled, SNEW is the total life and SMOH is what has run since. Both matter, because some components inside an engine are life-limited on total time regardless of overhaul.
TTAF and TT, total time airframe and total time
Hours on the airframe since manufacture. This figure never resets. An engine overhaul takes SMOH back to zero and changes nothing about TTAF. On aircraft with life-limited structural components, TTAF is what those limits are measured against, so a low-SMOH aircraft with high TTAF can still be close to an expensive airframe event.
ARC, airworthiness review certificate
The EASA document confirming an aircraft's continuing airworthiness. Under point ML.A.901 of Regulation (EU) No 1321/2014 it may be extended a maximum of two consecutive times, for one year each time, by an appropriately approved airworthiness management organisation when the conditions are met. A listing on an EASA register should state the ARC expiry date. A lapsed ARC is more than a paperwork problem, because reinstating it requires an airworthiness review that may find work.
Annual
The FAA inspection required within the preceding 12 calendar months under 14 CFR 91.409(a), and approved for return to service by a person authorised under 14 CFR 43.7. The clock runs from the end of the month in which it was carried out. Ask to read the last three annual sign-offs rather than only the most recent, because deferred items show up as a pattern across years.
100-hour
An additional inspection required under 14 CFR 91.409(b) when an aircraft carries persons for hire or is used to give flight instruction for hire. The scope matches an annual; only the trigger differs. The 100-hour limit may be exceeded by up to 10 hours, and only to reach a place where the inspection can be carried out, with the excess deducted from the next interval. An aircraft coming off a flying school line will have a far denser inspection record than a privately flown one.
Part 91
The FAA general operating and flight rules covering private, non-commercial flying. Part 135 covers on-demand commercial operation and adds inspection, crew and equipment requirements. An aircraft maintained to Part 91 standards is not automatically eligible for commercial use, and moving it onto a certificate can be expensive. Establish which set of rules the aircraft has been operated under.
LSA, light sport aircraft
A United States certification category with its own weight and performance limits and its own maintenance rules, flown on a sport pilot certificate or higher. PlaneFox lists 49 light sport aircraft, 39 of them with a published price and a median of EUR 100,000. An aircraft sold as an LSA in the United States may hold no equivalent approval in Europe, so check the certification basis that applies in the country where you intend to register it.
ULM, ultralight and microlight
The European ultralight categories, defined nationally rather than by a single European rule, which is why the same airframe can be an ultralight in one country and a certified aircraft in another. PlaneFox lists 629 ultralights, 485 of them with a published price and a median of EUR 99,000. Before buying across a border, confirm the aircraft can be registered in the class you expect in your own country.
IFR and VFR
Instrument flight rules and visual flight rules. A listing described as IFR should be backed by certified equipment, current pitot-static and transponder certifications, and an aircraft approved for instrument flight in its own documentation. A VFR-only aircraft can often be upgraded, but the cost is an avionics installation and a certification exercise rather than a purchase. Ask for the date of the last pitot-static and transponder checks.
POR, price on request
The seller has not published an asking price. This is normal at the top of the market and rare at the bottom. Of the 938 jets listed on PlaneFox, 273 show a price, which is 29.1 per cent. Of the 3,949 single-engine aircraft, 2,183 show a price, which is 55.3 per cent. POR is not a sign of a problem. It usually means the price is dollar-denominated, moves with maintenance status, or the owner has instructed the broker not to publish.
Damage history
Any recorded accident, incident or repair affecting the primary structure. What matters is not whether damage occurred but how it was repaired: to the manufacturer's structural repair manual, under approved engineering data, or by a shop working outside approved data. Ask for the repair documentation and the inspection that returned the aircraft to service. Undocumented damage is the most common reason a sale collapses at pre-purchase inspection.
Logbooks
The airframe, engine and propeller maintenance records. Complete and continuous logbooks are part of the asset. Missing years cannot be recreated, they reduce what the aircraft can be sold for, and they make it impossible to prove compliance with recurring airworthiness directives. Ask whether the logbooks are original or reconstructed, and arrange to inspect them in person before paying a deposit.
AD compliance, airworthiness directives
Airworthiness directives are mandatory instructions issued by the regulator against a type, an engine, a propeller or a component. Compliance is a legal condition of airworthiness, not a recommendation. Some are one-time and some recur at hour or calendar intervals. Ask for the AD compliance list with the next-due date and hours for every recurring item, and check that it covers the engine and propeller as well as the airframe.
Using these when you compare listings
Three figures decide most piston purchases: hours remaining to TBO, the airframe total time, and the calendar date of the next inspection. Two figures decide most jet purchases: the next-due major inspection and whether the engines sit on a maintenance programme. Everything else in an advert is context around those numbers.
Compare live inventory on single-engine aircraft, jets, ultralights and light sport aircraft.
PlaneFox figures were taken on 7 August 2026. PlaneFox aggregates listings from 60 or more broker sites and private sellers, and publishes asking prices rather than transaction prices.