Ground Support Equipment Financing
Ground support is the only part of aviation finance where the aircraft is not the asset. FBOs, maintenance shops, and flight departments run a ramp full of equipment that earns its keep indirectly, and it is usually bought as a fleet rather than one machine at a time.
How we structure it.
Equipment Loan
Straightforward ownership for equipment with a long service life and a steady secondary market, which describes most of a ramp.
Fleet Facility
One approval covering a ramp's equipment plan, drawn as each unit is bought, so an FBO is not re-applying every time a tug is replaced.
Seasonal Structure
De-icing and cold weather equipment earns in a few months of the year. Payments weighted toward the season it works in keep the equipment affordable through the rest.
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Tugs, tractors, and aircraft movement equipment
Ground power units, air starts, and hydraulic carts
De-icing rigs and cold weather equipment
Fuel trucks, tanks, and dispensing equipment
Hangar tooling, jacks, stands, and lifts
Ramp vehicles, belt loaders, and lavatory service units
What the desk reads.
The operation behind the ramp — FBO, MRO, or flight department
Whether the equipment supports contracted or transient traffic
New or used, and the unit's remaining service life
Fleet age and the replacement plan behind the purchase
Seasonality of the work the equipment serves
The operator's facility position and lease term
Asked before the term sheet.
Is ground support equipment financed differently from aircraft?
Yes, and more simply. GSE is durable industrial equipment with long service lives and a predictable secondary market, so the analysis looks much like financing any working fleet — condition, utilization, and the operation behind it — rather than the records-and-residual questions an airframe raises.
Can a mixed ramp be put on one schedule?
That is usually the sensible approach. A ramp accumulates equipment one purchase at a time until an operator is tracking several schedules with different end dates, and consolidating them onto a plan with a coordinated replacement cycle is the point at which the ramp gets managed rather than patched.
How is de-icing equipment handled given the season?
As a seasonal asset, because that is what it is. A rig that works hard for a few months and sits for the rest is a poor fit for a level schedule, and weighting payments toward the months it earns keeps it from being a cost center through the summer.
Related financing
The rest of the aviation desk's coverage — assets, components, and ownership programs.
Part 135 Operator Financing
Aircraft finance for charter and air taxi operators — fleet additions and refinance structured around utilization, certificate, and fleet fit.
Part 91 Aircraft Financing
Corporate and private aircraft finance under Part 91 — flight departments and owner-operators, structured around the business the aircraft serves.
Fractional & Shared Ownership Financing
Finance a fractional share or a co-ownership interest — where the asset is a share and an agreement rather than a whole aircraft.
Tell us about the aircraft. We’ll engineer the rest.
Confidential response within one business day.
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