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VREF | The Truth About the Aviation Market

by Jason Zilberbrand

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Latest episodes

Price It Right or Pay to Lose | EP 61

October 14, 2026 · 37 min

A listener went shopping for a mid-’90s Piper Archer. Low time. No damage history. Original paint. Original panel. Engine close to TBO. The seller was asking $189,000. VREF put the airplane at roughly $165,000. The buyer was prepared to…
The Single Pilot Citation is Dead | EP 60

October 7, 2026 · 26 min

For more than four decades, one story helped define the legacy Citation market: This is the jet you can fly yourself. Your first jet. Your hands on the throttles. Your family in the back. Nobody required in the right seat. At the end of…
The Flight School Closed. The Loan Didn't. | EP 59

September 29, 2026 · 29 min

A parent takes out a home-equity line. A student wires tens of thousands of dollars to a flight school. The school has experienced instructors, airline partnerships, manufacturer affiliations, national press coverage, and every outward…
The $500k Loan Disguised as a Deposit | EP 58

September 24, 2026 · 38 min

Last episode, Jason explained why nobody should wire eight figures directly to an aircraft seller without escrow. This episode asks the uncomfortable follow-up: Why will some of those same sophisticated buyers wire $250,000, $500,000, even…
The $500 Million Escrow Betrayal | EP 57

September 16, 2026 · 37 min

Somewhere today, someone may wire $40 million to an aircraft escrow company they’ve never visited, run by people they’ve never met—and barely think twice about it. Why? Because aviation runs on trust. More specifically, it runs on a…

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The Most Expensive "Peace of Mind" In Aviation | EP 56

September 10, 2026 · 43 min

An owner has been paying into an engine program for 11 years. More than $1 million contributed. The airplane is worth roughly $3 million. And the overhaul those payments are supposed to protect him from is still four to five years…
The Market Split In Half: The Numbers Don't Lie | EP 55

September 1, 2026 · 46 min

The September 1 VREF value revision is live—and the numbers tell a very different story than the broad “strong market” or “weak market” headlines. Business jet transaction volume is down nearly 19% year to date, essentially returning to…
The Great Mooney Mystery: Six Questions The Record Doesn't Answer | EP 54

August 27, 2026 · 31 min

Jason Zilberbrand found something unusual on an ordinary corporate website: Luscombe Mooney Aircraft Company. Two historic general aviation brands. One masthead. Mooney’s address. Mooney’s phone number. Mooney’s domain. But no major…
The "Ferrari Problem" Is Coming For Aviation | EP 53

August 21, 2026 · 30 min

How does an entire market start pricing assets at numbers buyers have never actually paid? That’s the question behind Episode 53 of The Truth About the Market. And although Jason starts with Ferrari, this episode is really about…
The $2 Million Loss Your Insurance May Never Mention | EP 52

August 14, 2026 · 42 min

An $8 million Citation CJ4 is sitting on a ramp. The owner isn’t flying it. He isn’t even in the country. A line guy hooks up a tug, gets distracted, and tows it into a hangar improperly. Forty seconds later, the damage is done. The…
The "Red Hot" Jet That No One Is Selling | EP 51

August 8, 2026 · 30 min

In this episode, we cover:• Why the Challenger 3500 has become the industry’s favorite proof that the super-midsize market is running hot • What Jason found after reviewing every recorded Challenger 3500 transfer • How many Challenger…
Aviation's Alphabet Mafia | EP 50

July 31, 2026 · 28 min

In this episode, we cover:• What public IRS Form 990 filings reveal about executive compensation • The reported compensation of the National Business Aviation Association’s president and CEO • How additional compensation can appear…

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About the show

Up-to-date information on the state of the aviation marketplace and it's effect on aircraft valuation by the leader in aircraft valuation: VREF Aircraft Value Reference, Appraisal & Litigation Services