Shipments and billings for general aviation airplanes and helicopters were up in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) latest report. Shipments and billings also rose from the first quarter of 2026 to the second quarter.
According to GAMA, manufacturers shipped 1,458 airplanes from January through the end of June, compared to 1,433 for that stretch in 2025. That included 786 piston aircraft, 289 turboprops, and 383 business jets. GAMA estimated that airplane billings through the first six months of the year totalled about $14.3 billion, 15.5 percent higher than 2025’s $12.4 billion.
For GA helicopters, the organization recorded 419 shipments through June, comprising 110 piston models and 309 turbine rotorcraft, versus 403 in the first six months of 2025. Helicopter billings rose 7.2 percent year over year from about $2 billion through June 2025 to about $2.2 billion this year.
Among the aircraft types listed by GAMA, business jets saw the largest percentage increase in shipments from the first six months of 2025 to the same period in ’26 at 8.2 percent. The next highest categories were turboprops (7.8 percent increase) and piston helicopters (5.8 percent).
Piston airplanes were the only segment GAMA recorded that saw an annual decline, with shipments down 3.1 percent.
Per GAMA’s full report, Cirrus led the way for GA airplane shipments with 405 units through June, including 196 turbocharged SR22s. The next closest were Textron Aviation with 333 shipments, including 107 Skyhawk SPs, and Piper, of which the majority of its 115 shipments were PA-28-181s.
Airbus Helicopters was most active in the GA rotorcraft segment, shipping 142 units, of which 52 were the H145 or its military variant. Robinson Helicopter was not far behind with 127 shipments, though Airbus Helicopters’ total billings of $948.4 million dwarfed Robinson’s $85.5 million.
Year to Year, Quarter to Quarter
GAMA’s report showed growth in GA shipments compared to last year as well as throughout 2026.
Airplane and helicopter shipments both rose in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year. Manufacturers shipped 791 airplanes in Q2 versus 667 in Q1 and 251 helicopters in Q2 compared to 168 in Q1, GAMA estimated.
Among airplanes, the turbine segment saw the greatest quarterly percentage increase in shipments at 35 percent. For helicopters, turbine models led the way with a quarterly increase in shipments of 55.4 percent.
The value of GA billings also rose quarter to quarter. GAMA recorded about $8.25 billion in airplane billings from April through June versus about $6 billion during the first three months of 2026. It estimated helicopter billings in Q2 rose to $1.73 billion compared to about $804 million in Q1.
The report also breaks down shipments based on where airplanes were manufactured. It lists a grand total of 1,096 airplanes shipped by U.S. manufacturers in the first six months of 2026 compared to 286 from European manufacturers. Adding the sums of piston, turboprop, and turbine airplanes for each segment, however, yields totals of 1,308 and 359, respectively.
