Updated . Educational only — not tax, legal, or lending advice. Confirm figures with your CPA, the state revenue department, and a lender before you close.
Four Numbers, Not a Vibe
Aircraft underwriting is a small set of ratios plus a collateral story. The narrative version is what lenders look for. This page names the metrics so you can compute them before you apply.
Loan-to-value
Loan amount divided by appraised value, not divided by the asking price. If you are paying above the appraisal, the difference is cash. A lender who wants 80% of value on a strong piston file is not offering 80% of a hopeful listing. See LTV and appraisals.
Reserves against the payment
Cash and marketable securities divided by the proposed monthly payment, plus your existing housing and debt payments. Lenders want months of payments, not “I’m good for it.” Home equity is not reserves. AOPA’s leaseback discussion is a reminder that the payment they are reserving against includes a higher down payment when the use is commercial. Personal files are judged on the same idea: can you write the check if you do not fly for three months?
Credit history
There is no federal minimum FICO for an aircraft. Many specialty lenders are uncomfortable below the high 600s and price their best quotes well above that. Treat any specific cutoff you hear as that lender’s policy. Recent delinquencies matter more than an old, explained one. Do not add a cosigner you cannot actually collect from; the lender will underwrite them as a real obligor.
Use
Personal, business Part 91, instruction, rental, and Part 135 are different risks and different insurance policies. The metric is whether all three documents — application, note, and policy — name the same use. A mismatch is a decline even when the other three numbers are fine.
Questions buyers actually ask
Is debt-to-income the same test as on a mortgage?
It is similar in spirit and not identical in the ratio. Aircraft lenders look at the new payment plus existing debt against income, and they look at liquidity separately. A mortgage approval is not an aircraft approval.
Do they use the payment from my calculator?
They use their own amortization. Match their inputs — amount financed, rate, term, balloon — in the calculator so you are not surprised.