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An aircraft loan in Canada is secured equipment financing. The aircraft is the collateral, the lender registers its interest against it, and the rate and term follow the airframe as much as the borrower. That is the single most useful thing to know before applying, because it means the questions a lender asks are mostly about the aircraft.
The lender on this page publishes aviation financing from $5,000 to $50 million, from 7% APR, on terms to 96 months, and an aircraft sits at the conservative end of that range: a professional appraisal is usual, a down payment is expected, and the term shortens as the airframe ages. We hold no aviation application data and list one lender; the terms on this page are that lender's published terms, not a market survey. The nearest population we can see is business borrowers, whose average request on our platform was $94,465 in the first half of 2026; our Lending Demand Index puts 13.5% of business requests above $150,000, the band most aircraft purchases sit in.
Age and total time. Airframe hours and engine time since overhaul decide the term more than anything else. A ten-year-old single-engine piston with a recent overhaul finances on a longer term than a thirty-year-old airframe approaching one.
Use. Personal, flight training, charter or commercial operation. Commercial use is assessed on the operation's revenue as well as the aircraft, and is usually financed through a business rather than an individual.
Appraisal. Most lenders want an independent appraisal on anything above a modest value, and lend against the appraised figure rather than the purchase price. A pre-purchase inspection by a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer is separate from the appraisal and is worth having regardless of the lender.
Registration and insurance. The aircraft must be registered with Transport Canada in the borrowing entity's name, and hull and liability insurance naming the lender is a condition of funding. Transport Canada's aircraft registration requirements are at tc.canada.ca.
Maintenance records. A complete logbook history supports the appraisal and the term. Gaps in the logs reduce both.
Less than you might expect, and in a different order from a personal loan.
Down payment. A meaningful share of the purchase price from your own funds. It is the lender's first protection against the aircraft being worth less than the loan.
Debt service. Whether your income, or the operation's revenue for a commercial aircraft, covers the payment alongside hangarage, insurance, maintenance and fuel. Lenders know the loan payment is the smallest of those.
Credit. It sets the rate and the tier. An aircraft loan is rarely declined on credit alone where the down payment and the airframe are strong.
Licensing. Some lenders ask for the pilot's licence and ratings, or the commercial operator's certificate, as part of the file.
Because the aircraft is the security, aircraft loans price like other secured equipment rather than like unsecured business credit. The published floor on this page, 7% APR, is where a strong file on a newer airframe starts; older aircraft, higher hours and commercial use move the rate up and the term down. Terms of ten to fifteen years exist in the market for newer aircraft; older airframes finance over five to seven.
Three things move the rate more than credit does: the age of the airframe, the size of the down payment, and whether the appraisal supports the price. A buyer who arrives with an appraisal, a pre-purchase inspection and a down payment of a third has already done most of the underwriting.
The test before applying: if the appraisal supports the price, the down payment is a third and the airframe is under twenty years old, expect the bottom of a lender's range; if one of those is missing, expect the top; if two are missing, expect a smaller loan or none.
Ask which rate structure the offer carries. A fixed rate holds for the term and costs a little more at the outset; a floating rate moves with the lender's reference rate and can rise across a ten-year term. On a longer amortisation the difference compounds, so a buyer who intends to keep the aircraft should price the fixed option first and treat the floating one as the gamble it is. Ask before the appraisal, not after; the structure is easier to negotiate while the lender still wants the file.
The equipment loan calculator prices any amount over any term. Run it against the full cost of ownership, not the payment alone.
Single-engine pistons are the bulk of the Canadian private fleet and the easiest to finance: a deep resale market, straightforward appraisals, long lives. A well-maintained example financed over ten years is a routine file.
Twins and turboprops carry higher engine reserves and a thinner resale market, so the down payment expectation rises and the term shortens. Lenders look harder at the maintenance history and at whether the operator can carry the running costs.
Light jets are financed almost entirely through commercial or corporate structures, on the operation's statements as much as the airframe.
Helicopters finance on component times as much as airframe hours, since the major components are life-limited and replacement cost dominates the value.
Amateur-built and experimental aircraft are the hardest to finance. Appraisal is difficult, the resale market is narrow, and many lenders will not lend against them at all. Expect a larger down payment and a shorter term where a lender will.
Floatplanes and bush aircraft finance on the same basis as their wheeled equivalents, with the float set treated as part of the appraised value and the operating environment reflected in the insurance quote.
A flight school, a charter operator or an aerial work company is financed as a business that happens to own aircraft. The lender assesses the operation's revenue, its contracts and its certificate as well as each airframe, and the loan sits in the company's name with a personal guarantee from the principals. Fleet purchases can be financed as one facility. For the working capital side of the same operation, fuel, insurance, payroll across a slow season, the products on the business loans hub are the right fit; an aircraft loan should buy aircraft.
Most used aircraft in Canada change hands privately, and a lender will finance a private sale on the same basis as a dealer sale, with more paperwork. Expect to supply the bill of sale, the seller's registration and proof of clear title, the logbooks, and the appraisal. Funds are usually released to the seller against the registration transfer rather than to you.
Hangarage or tie-down, annual inspection, insurance, engine reserves against the next overhaul, avionics maintenance, fuel. On a light aircraft these routinely exceed the loan payment. A lender assessing debt service will build them in whether you have or not, so the honest budget is the one that already includes them.
The application below routes to the lender above. For other secured equipment, from trucks to medical devices, the equipment financing hub lists every product the same application reaches; for the business side of a commercial operation, the business loans hub covers working capital and term debt.
Reviewed by Rafael Rositsan, Co-Founder and CEO, Smarter Loans. Last reviewed 5 September 2026.
As secured equipment financing, with the aircraft as collateral. The rate follows the airframe's age, total time and appraisal and the size of the down payment more than the borrower's score. The lender on this page publishes aviation financing from 7% APR; a strong file on a newer airframe starts there, and older aircraft or commercial use move the rate up.
It follows the airframe. Newer aircraft can finance over ten to fifteen years in the Canadian market; older airframes finance over five to seven. The lender on this page publishes terms to 96 months. High airframe hours, an engine near overhaul, or gaps in the logbooks all shorten the term.
Usually, above a modest value. Lenders lend against the appraised figure rather than the purchase price. A pre-purchase inspection by a licensed aircraft maintenance engineer is separate and worth having regardless; it protects you, and the appraisal protects the lender.
Yes, on the same basis as a dealer sale, with more paperwork: the bill of sale, the seller's Transport Canada registration and clear title, the logbooks and an appraisal. Funds are usually released to the seller against the registration transfer.
A meaningful share from your own funds; around a third of the purchase price is a strong file, and less is possible on newer airframes. The down payment is the lender's first protection against the aircraft being worth less than the loan, so it moves the rate and term more than most borrowers expect.
