Buy a plane in the US or in Australia

[stallhorncat]

Background, I'm currently living in the US and immigrating to Australia in a few months. I'm in the market for a 2 seat experimental (currently looking at RV's, glasairs and a few others)

I'm curious if it makes more since to purchase a plane here in the US and have it imported. There's definitely a greater selection here, and as I understand it, I could keep the plane on the N registry as long as I can find an A&P to do the condition inspections. Downsides would be having to pay both US sales tax and then GST tax on import, and of course the cost of shipping.

The other option would be to wait until I'm in Oz and purchase a plane there. Less selection of planes for sale, but I wouldn't have to worry about import. I'd need a CASA license, but it seems relatively straightforward to convert from my FAA license.

Have any of y'all done this? Looking for thoughts or opinions on which might be the better approach?

[Pilot DAR]

Welcome Stallhorncat,

This thread will provide some thoughts about container shipping a plane, should you be factoring that into your thinking:

https://www.pprune.org/private-flying/559389-container-shipping-plane.html?highlight=Container

[wrench1]

The other option would be to wait until I'm in Oz and purchase a plane there.
You may want to research a bit more on the Down Under side about your options especially if you don't already own an aircraft. The import/export of amateur-built aircraft is different than certified aircraft as they are not part of any international conventions or agreements. Perhaps contact the SAAA (https://saaa.asn.au/) in Australia and find out what your best option(s) may be. They're similar to the EAA here and have provided input on other projects I was involved in the past.