The general aviation market enters 2026 with momentum that appears strong but with a deep backlog that complicates the market. After navigating tariff whiplash and lingering supply chain disruptions in 2025, manufacturers remain cautiously optimistic.
To prepare FLYING’s 2026 general aviation market survey we reviewed quarterly sales data through 2025. Almost every aircraft manufacturer that reported sales sold more airplanes last year than in 2024, and billings were up substantially. In looking at GA sales, we view billings with caution because we recall in the mid-1980s when they were going up nicely as prices shot up while unit sales went through the floor. By 1986 it all came crashing down into a rather nasty general aviation slump.
Not all manufacturers had increased unit sales.
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Foreign companies Daher, Diamond Aircraft, Pilatus Aircraft, and Tecnam Aircraft were slammed by the tariffs on imported aircraft imposed by President Donald Trump in late spring and rescinded in late summer. That caused them to delay or stop deliveries to the U.S.
In speaking with a few of those manufacturers, we learned that once the tariffs were lifted, they accelerated deliveries for the remainder of the year, although it was not enough for those listed here. Only Embraer and Bombardier managed to increase deliveries despite tariffs—and the president’s threat to “decertify” Bombardier aircraft in the U.S.
The ongoing challenge/concern that we heard from every manufacturer was consistent with what we were told by Daher vice president of sales Michel Adam de Villiers. Daher’s production facilities in France and the U.S. were still wrestling supply chain delays that started during COVID-19 with a loss of skilled workers to disease, retirement, or changing occupations.
De Villiers said that things continue to improve, and Daher is so optimistic about the future that it is building an additional production facility in Florida and expects to deliver 60 of the newly released TBM 980s this year. Part of that may be due to the purchase price of the 980 including five years of maintenance.
Jens Hennig of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) echoed de Villiers’ optimism, noting that the jet market exceeded the most recent high point in numbers delivered in 2019 and is closing in on records set in the 20-teens. Hennig also noted that among the manufacturers who report backlog numbers, particularly in top-end products, their total order books exceed $60 billion.
Jets
The Cirrus Aircraft SF50 Vision Jet continues to be hugely popular, particularly in the owner-flown market, with 106 in 2025 compared with 101 in 2024. Sales continue to be driven by
commonality of Garmin avionics through the Cirrus line facilitating step-ups by SR owners to the jet and Garmin’s popular Autoland system and the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS), which has thus far saved the occupants of two jets.
- READ MORE: 2026 Cirrus SR22 Buyers Guide
- READ MORE: Private Jet Charter Cost Guide and Calculator
Embraer of Brazil experienced a good year with overall sales going from 130 jets in 2024 to 155 in 2025. Sales of the Phenom 100EX increased from nine in 2024 to 14 in 2025. Sales of the Phenom 300E—the world’s best-selling light jet that happens to also be the fastest, with the longest range— increased from 60 during 2024 to 66 in 2025.
Embraer’s two midsize jets also did well. The Praetor 500, the world’s fastest in that class at Mach 0.83, went from 28 sales in 2024 to 39 in 2025. Sales of the super-midsize Praetor 600, which also can cruise at Mach 0.83 and with best-in-class max range of 3,340 nm, sold 30 in 2025, up from 27 in 2024.
Sales of the HA-420 HondaJet Elite II, the light jet with the big cabin, increased from 11 in 2024 to 12 in 2025.
Innovative Swiss manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft sold 50 of its combination luxury/utilitarian PC-24s in 2025, down slightly from 51 in 2024.
Textron Aviation, the you-want-a-jet-we’ve-got-one-for-you company, did well in 2025, increasing sales on almost all its jets. It also announced the Gen3 series of its three single-pilot jets, incorporating Garmin’s G3000 Prime avionics with deliveries to be sequenced in over the next year or so, starting with the Model 525C, the Citation CJ4 Gen3 early this year. During 2024 and ’25, sales of the Model 525 Citation M2 Gen2 stayed constant at 22; the 525B Citation CJ3+ went from 24 to 31; and the 525C CJ4 Gen2 increased from 26 to 30.
Sales of the midsize 560 Citation XLS+ dropped from 15 to 13 from 2024 to ’25. The Citation Ascend, also a Model 560, had sales go from one in 2024 to three in 2025. The popular midsize model 680A Citation Latitude, featuring a stand-up cabin and the ability to use runways usually only frequented by light jets and still smoke along at Mach 0.80, had a sales bump during the reference time from 40 to 47. Cessna saw sales of its super-midsize model 700 Citation Longitude increase from 23 to 25 in the observed period.
Moving up to the alphas of the bizjet world, Bombardier sold 73 of its super-midsize 3500 and 650 series in 2024. That number dropped to 71 in 2025. Sales increased for the top of Bombardier’s line, the 5500, 6000, 6500, and 7500, going from 73 to 86 in 2025.
Gulfstream Aerospace, maker of the world’s fastest civilian jet in the Mach 0.935 G700, did well last year. Sales of its super midsize G280 bumped from 18 to 22, while in its long-range line—models 500, 600, 650, ER, 700, and 800—saw sales leap from 118 to 136.
Turboprops
Daher saw challenges with continuing supply chain issues—although they are improving—in both its U.S. and French factories and tariffs on its French-built airplanes. It sold 13 U.S.-built Kodiak 100s in 2025, down from 15 in 2024, although some of the drop may have been due to customers opting for the more capable Kodiak 900, of which Daher sold 12 during 2025, up from 11 in 2024.
Fifty-six of the speed merchant TBM 960s were sold during 2024, but that number dropped to 51 in 2025. Part of the reason for the drop was the process of changing over to produce the more capable TBM 980, which is now being delivered.
Epic Aircraft phased out its E1000 GX 333-knot speedster in the first half of 2025, selling seven of them that year as compared to 26 in ’24. The GX was replaced with the more sophisticated E1000 AX with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics and an increased useful load. Starting deliveries in the third quarter of 2025, Epic delivered 21 of the rugged carbon-fiber birds. Despite a changeover from an existing model to a new one and all that’s involved with redoing a production line, Epic’s total sales went from 26 to 28.
Pilatus was another manufacturer adversely affected by tariffs in 2025 as it was also introducing the newest version of its load-hauling, go-anywhere PC-12, the PC-12 Pro. Part of that transition was a change from its historic use of Honeywell avionics to certify and modify a production line to use the latest integrated flight deck from Garmin, the G3000 Prime. Not surprisingly due to tariffs, PC-12 sales slipped from 96 in 2024 to 82 during ’25.
Piper Aircraft seems to have hit a sweet spot in the single-engine turboprop market with its 301-knot M700 Fury. During 2024, it delivered 46 of the planes, and that number increased to 47 in ’25. It also continued to produce its entry-level turboprop, the M500, selling 13 in both 2024 and ’25.
Textron’s Beechcraft owns the twin-engine turboprop
market with its two King Airs, the 260 and 360/EX, and deliveries remain as solid as the ride in a King Air. Beechcraft sold 44 King Airs in 2024 and 46 in ’25.
Textron Cessna did extremely well with its Caravan series, the 208 Caravan 675 and 208B Grand Caravan EX, selling a total of 88 versus 70 in 2024. Seventy-eight of those were the Caravan EX, up from 60 the previous year. That more than made up for a slight drop in sales of the Caravan 675 from 10 to eight.
Cessna’s dedicated twin turboprop SkyCourier, aimed at the freight market, sold steadily, 14 in 2025 versus 13 the previous year. The 408 was recently certificated to operate as a “combi” aircraft, carrying cargo and up to nine passengers. Deliveries are to begin this year. It also has a gravel kit for bush operations.
Pistons
Cirrus continued its hot sales in 2025. SR20 deliveries increased from 121 in 2024 to 152 in ’25; SR22 sales went from 145 to 155, and sales of the turbocharged SR22T surged from 364 to 384.
CubCrafters started life rebuilding Super Cubs and has evolved into a manufacturer of homebuilt, kit, and production high-performance STOL, two-place aircraft. For an impressive exhibition of STOL performance, watch the video on its website of a Carbon Cub landing on a helipad sticking out of the side of a building in Dubai at a near hypoxia-inducing altitude.
In a surprise, CubCrafters’ sales in the survey period in 2025 dropped from those in 2024. While the Carbon Cub LSA and E/A-B stayed steady at 42, the XCub/NXCub E/A-B dropped from 25 to 18, and the CC19 XCub/NXCub slid from 20 to 13.
Diamond wrestled with the tariff monster and had mixed results. From 2024 to ’25 DA20 sales jumped from 14 to 18, sales of the efficient DA40 slumped from 95 to 81, while the speedy, diesel-powered DA42 twin only dropped from 53 to 51. The five-place, jet-A-burning, retractable-gear, 172-knot single DA50 earned attention when Diamond went into the larger cabin, complex single-engine market, abandoned by most other manufacturers.
Diamond sold 15 DA50s during 2025, down from 26 in ’24. At the top end of the Diamond fleet, the twin-engine DA62 seems to be in demand from flight training schools because of its jet-like handling with the gear and flaps down and
private owners for its multiengine redundancy and over 180-knot cruise. A big benefit is that it burns jet-A in a world where avgas is less and less available. Diamond sold 64 in 2024, increasing to 70 in ’25.
Piper continues to be a strong player in the training market with its PA-28-181 Archer/Pilot 100i, boosting sales from 182 in 2024 to 188 in ’25. Twin-engine Seminole sales, almost exclusive to flight schools, went from 26 to 27. The six-place, retractable PA-46-350P M350 sales dropped, going from 21 to 15.
Slovenia-based Pipistrel continues to offer a wide range of two-place piston performers and trainers, although the vagaries of being a non-U.S. manufacturer hit it in 2025. The three aircraft in its piston series saw sales drop from 69 to 52. Its electric airplane sales went from 16 to one.
Keeping track of the many models of efficient and capable Italian-manufactured Tecnam aircraft almost requires being an aficionado. Total sales of its singles dropped from 248 to 173 from 2024 to ’25. Sales of the company’s twin-engine aircraft, the P2006T and P2012 Traveler, went up from 35 to 44.
Textron’s piston-engine line sales went up during the survey period. The Cessna 172 jumped from 164 units to 191, the normally aspirated 182T went from 42 to 44, and the turbocharged T182T slid down from 34 to 33. General aviation’s piston sport utility vehicle, the turbocharged Cessna T206H saw sales increase from 34 to 43.
Sadly, Beechcraft announced the end of production of the G36 Bonanza and G58 Baron once current orders are filled. Five Bonanzas were sold in 2024 and six in ’25. Two Barons were delivered in 2024 and five in ’25. It marks the end of a spectacular era.
Conclusion
The general aviation market looks solid in 2026 as the demand for piston training aircraft and turbines remains strong with an eye-watering order backlog. Although the seismic events of suddenly imposed tariffs and threats to “decertify” aircraft in 2025 may continue to negatively affect overall sales. FLYING will be paying close attention.
This article first appeared in the April Issue 969 of the FLYING print edition.