Are you looking to buy an airplane, helicopter or glider? If you said yes, you are probably either leaking cash or you do not have anywhere near enough of it to buy a plane. Don’t get worried if it’s the latter: If your credit is good, you could always borrow the money.

Airplane loans are financing arrangements, much like home or car loans, that allow people and corporations to buy and use aircraft. Since aircraft are usually extremely pricey, aircraft loans are very common in the air-travel world.

Some aircraft loans are easy while others are more complicated. At the simple end are loans for private and corporate aircraft; at the complex end are the loans industrial airlines use to purchase their aircraft fleets. The easiest loans are those used for private and corporate aircraft; the more complex are used by commercial airlines to buy and maintain their fleets. The easy schemes appear like auto loans and home mortgages, while the more complex arrangements resemble maritime and project financing.

Here is how a private loan procedure usually works. The first step is to provide the lender (probably a bank or financing organization) data about yourself and the aircraft you are planning to purchase. Next, the lender appraises the aircraft’s value and performs a title search to ensure the aircraft is owned free and clear and can change hands without problems. The lender then prepares a security contract, which gives the lender a security interest in the plane, and a promissory note, which makes you accountable for whatever part of the aircraft loan can’t be repaid by repossessing the aircraft. A surety, similar to a co-signor, might be needed if you have questionable credit. If you have shaky credit, the lender may also need a surety, much like a co-signor.

This simple loan scheme is adequate for those purchasing private and corporate aircraft, which are relatively inexpensive when compared with larger aircraft. The big jets flown by business airlines, by contrast, are extremely costly. Last year, Boeing pegged the value of its 747 jets at $333 million; although airlines do not normally pay the full sticker price, the ultimate cost is still high.

There are 3 common methods used by air carriers to finance their fleets: direct lending, operating leasing and financing leasing. There’re other alternatives for airlines, like cash payments, tax leases and manufacturer assistance.

Direct lending closely resembles the traditional aircraft loan scheme used by private and corporate owners, but on a larger scale. In this case, numerous banks often contribute to one airline’s loan. Here, as with private aircraft loans, lenders typically demand a security interest in the aircraft therefore they can repossess it if the loans go unpaid.

With operating leasing, instead of direct lending, the airlines do not get ownership of the aircraft. The airlines instead lease used aircraft from so-called Commercial Aircraft Sales and Leasing organizations, or aircraft lessors. These leases are generally short term, no more than ten years, and they are most attractive to small airlines and start up ventures since costs are reduced and the airlines do not need to hold onto the aircraft beyond its usefulness.

Finance leasing, finally, is basically a more complex form of operating leasing. A third party, usually a partnership or special purpose company, purchases aircraft using loans and equity funding, then leases it to an airline. Often the airline has automatic ownership, or the option to purchase, when the lease expires.