To import or not to import

Hi,

I'm a CPL student at Langley and I am very keen on getting an RV-6 or 7. I have found one in California that has all of the options/equipment that I want but I am very hesistant to buy a plane from the States because it seems like importing could be a nightmare. If anyone has any insite on this, I would be very grateful.

Alternatively, if anyone is selling (or knows someone who is) an RV-6 or 7 in Canada for around $60k, that could solve my dilemma nicely I'm not looking for anything super fancy, but day/night VFR, radio, mode C, and some form of radio navigation are my basic requirements.

Thanks,
Darren

Not a nightmare

Importing is definitely a lot more hassle than buying locally but quite doable, you just need some patience to work through the process. You also need to look carefully at the added costs. Consider:

Exchange - Included in this is the actual exchange rate plus the ~2% the bank will charge as their fee for doing the currency exchange. I see you are in Vancouver, I ended up using Vancouver Bullion and Exchange on Pender, saved a lot of money over using the banks.
Taxes - you will have to pay both GST and PST on your import.
Transportation - you will probably have someone ferry this to Canada for you and this will cost.
Inspections - you will have to have an annual inspection done regardless of when the last annual was done in the USA. You will also have to pay the MD-RA fee plus expenses to the MD-RA inspector.
Registration fees - there is a fee to get your registration mark.
Insurance/hangar - Of course you need insurance and hangar space regardless of where you buy, however if you import you will need to insure the airplane before you ferry it to Canada, and then you should count on 2 - 3 months of inspections, paper shuffle, etc before you fly it. In the meantime you are paying insurance and hangar fees without the benefit of being able to fly. If you intend to hangar the airplane make sure you find space before you buy - not easy to find in the Vancouver area.

If I were looking again I would look harder in Canada, and be prepared to pay quite a few thousand more for one already here.

If you do decide you wish to purchase the plane here in California, our company can help with the pre-buy inspection and the export to Canada, including delivery. We export 40-50 airplanes a year and are quite good at it. Give me a call or drop me an email if you'd like some help.

importing or not

Darren,
I'm sure you know all about searching on Barnstormers and trade-a-plane.
what I can tell you is that a lot of planes are 'almost' for sale.
look up all the reg #'s on the transport canada site, and make a few phone calls. Some folks are one the verge, and don't want to pay one more year of insurance and hangar fees.
I found and bought mine, unadvertised, at my home field.
I don't think anyone would be offended if you called and said that you saw their airplane at XYZ, and it is a beauty.....had you considered selling it?
How about a partnership, with option to buy out later?
There's quite a bit of good info on the TC site on importing also, be aware that you will likely pay for several annuals, one US, one Canadian, and must do a few mods ( gascolator) that you may or may not be comfortable with....of course, you'll want to make friends with another builder anyway for the pre-buy inspection etc., so they may help you with those items.

good luck.

One big thing that no one has mentioned yet is the aircraft must have flown at least 100 hrs air time, or it is not eligible to be imported. The requirements for importation of amateur-built aircraft can be found in an exemption to CAR 549.01 (look about 20% of the way down the page).

Hi Darren,

I'm just finishing an import on an RV-6 to Langley from Idaho. Send me an email and we can go over more details if you're interested. It's not all that difficult at all, and I did my own importation flight.

Canadian Planes.

There was a pretty nice 6a for sale here a month or two ago, I believe it was edenvale ontario? Search the classifieds from a couple months back, I can find the link if you wish, as I sent it to another friend. There arent a lot that cross but the ones that do seem to be very well priced. From what I have been told and from our flying clubs experience bringing fully certified planes in from the US....HUGE pain in the rear. I would keep my powder dry, look for a good Canadian bird and grab it when it pops up if the price and equip is as you wish.

Thanks for all of the replies. It seems that the biggest drawback for me to import would be the time it takes. I am hoping to do most of the time building for my CPL within the next couple of months, so 3 months of not flying is a big set back.

I am looking for a taildragger, but I saw the 6a for sale in Edenvale on globalplanesearch a couple of days ago an it certainly was temping. I checked today and it is no longer posted...I wonder if it just sold.

Darren