# Trade-A-Plane Listings Scraper (`parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Trade-A-Plane aircraft listings by category with optional make, model, and price filters. Returns each listing as a flat row with year, price, registration, total time, and seller contact details.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, E-commerce, Other
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 2 monthly users, 92.9% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.88 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Trade-A-Plane Listings Scraper

**Scrape Trade-A-Plane aircraft listings from any category, filtered by make, model, and price, up to a million per run.** Every listing returns year, make, model, price, registration, total time, and seller details. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Trade-A-Plane's website lets you browse thousands of aircraft for sale, but manually copying listing details into a spreadsheet is slow and error-prone. This Actor reads the public listing pages directly, collecting structured data on piston singles, jets, helicopters, and more. It filters by manufacturer, model, and price range as it runs, so your dataset contains only the aircraft that match your criteria.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Trade-A-Plane for |
|---|---|
| Aircraft brokers | Build a live inventory feed of available aircraft matching a client's budget and preferred make. |
| Market analysts | Track asking prices and total time across Cessna 172s to spot pricing trends. |
| Aviation insurers | Monitor the market value of specific makes and models for policy underwriting. |
| Maintenance shops | Find parts and engine listings for upcoming overhauls and repairs. |

### What it does

This Actor collects Trade-A-Plane aircraft listings by category and returns each one as a flat row with make, model, price, registration, and seller contact information.

- 🔎 **Category search:** Choose from all aircraft, piston single, piston twin, turboprop, jet, helicopters, experimental, amphibious, engines, parts, or avionics.
- 🏷️ **Make and model filters:** Narrow results to a specific manufacturer like Cessna or Piper, and a model like 172 or Bonanza.
- 💰 **Price range:** Set minimum and maximum asking prices in USD to see only listings within a budget.
- 📊 **Structured output:** Each listing arrives as a clean row with year, make, model, price, N-number, total time, and seller contact details.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Trade-A-Plane data

**📈 Monitor aircraft market prices.**

An aviation market analyst runs the scraper weekly on the piston single category, filtering for Cessna 172, to track average asking prices and total time trends over the quarter.

**🔧 Source engines and parts for a shop.**

A maintenance shop owner scrapes the engines and parts categories daily, filtering by make, to find Lycoming engines and avionics for upcoming customer overhauls.

**📋 Build a client inventory report.**

An aircraft broker scrapes jet listings with a max price of $5,000,000, filtering for Citation models, and exports the results to share with a corporate client.

**🚁 Find experimental and amphibious aircraft.**

A specialty dealer scrapes the experimental and amphibious categories to locate rare airframes for a collector, filtering by make when a specific brand is requested.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API needed** | Scrapes the public Trade-A-Plane website directly, no registration or API key required. |
| **Flexible filtering** | Combine category, make, model, and price range to target exactly the aircraft you care about. |
| **Scalable collection** | Collect up to a million listings in a single run, limited only by what is listed on the site. |
| **Clean data export** | Download results as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for immediate use in your tools. |

### How it compares

This Actor and the existing Trade-A-Plane Scraper both extract aircraft listings from the same source, with comparable field coverage for year, make, model, price, registration, and seller details.

| Feature | ParseForge | Trade-A-Plane Scraper |
|---|---|---|
| Category selection | Yes, 11 categories including parts and avionics | Not listed |
| Make and model filters | Yes | Not listed |
| Price range filter | Yes, min and max USD | Not listed |
| N-number registration | Yes | Yes |
| Seller contact details | Yes | Yes |
| Total and engine time | Yes | Yes |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a Trade-A-Plane category and optional make, model, and price filters, which are applied as each listing is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.0065 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.65 |
| 1,000 results | $6.50 |
| 10,000 results | $65.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Trade-A-Plane Listings Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Trade-A-Plane through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check that your make and model filters match real aircraft on Trade-A-Plane. Try running without filters first to confirm listings exist in the category, then add filters one at a time.

**The scraper stopped before reaching my maxItems limit.**

The Actor stops when it runs out of listings in the selected category that match your filters. Try broadening your filters or choosing a larger category to collect more listings.

**Some listings are missing the N-number or price.**

Trade-A-Plane sellers sometimes leave fields blank. The Actor returns whatever data is present on the listing page. Missing fields will appear as empty values in your dataset.

**The run is taking a long time.**

Large categories with high maxItems values take longer because the Actor respects the website's pagination. Reduce maxItems or narrow your filters to speed up the run.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can I scrape all aircraft categories at once? | The Actor scrapes one category per run. To collect multiple categories, run the Actor once per category and merge the datasets afterward. |
| Does this scraper require a Trade-A-Plane account or login? | No. It reads the publicly available listing pages, so no account, login, or API key is needed. |
| What data fields does each listing return? | Each row includes year, make, model, price, financing information, N-number registration, total time, engine time, avionics and equipment details, photos, and seller contact information. |
| How do I filter by a specific aircraft model? | Set the Model input field to the model name, like '172' or 'Bonanza'. The filter is applied as listings are read, so only matching aircraft appear in your results. |
| Can I set both a minimum and maximum price? | Yes. Use the minPrice and maxPrice input fields to define a price range in USD. Listings outside that range are skipped. |
| How many listings can I scrape in one run? | You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000. The actual number collected depends on how many listings match your filters on Trade-A-Plane. |
| What export formats are supported? | You can export your dataset in CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML format from the Apify platform. |
| Does the scraper handle pagination automatically? | Yes. It navigates through all pages of listings within your chosen category until it reaches your maxItems limit or the end of the listings. |
| Can I schedule this scraper to run daily? | Yes. Apify supports scheduled runs, so you can set this Actor to run daily, weekly, or on any cron schedule to keep your aircraft data fresh. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by TAP Publishing Company. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `category` (type: `string`):

Trade-A-Plane category to search.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many aircraft listings to collect per run.

## `make` (type: `string`):

Manufacturer name to filter by (e.g. Cessna, Piper, Beechcraft).

## `model` (type: `string`):

Model name to filter by (e.g. 172, Bonanza).

## `minPrice` (type: `integer`):

Lower bound on asking price.

## `maxPrice` (type: `integer`):

Upper bound on asking price.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "category": "aircraft",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/trade-a-plane-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/W6Ocga3QEs2M8F3g1/builds/McTJE1mDPvMroCPYJ/openapi.json