Here at the magazine we always anticipate Sun ‘n Fun, the big show in Lakeland, Florida, because the general tone is a good way to gauge the health of the industry going into a fresh flying season. There were some jitters this year with the looming threat of tariffs and the havoc they can create in an already inflated market.
Penny-pinching pilots who flagged us down begged for even more articles in Aviation Consumer that would help save them money, because those tariffs—on top of the eye-watering price increases on engines and avionics—are concerning. “I can barely afford my little airplane now and if the price on parts and insurance keeps rising, someone’s gonna get a nice Skylane,” one told us in a vendor tent. Having owned the airplane for 25-plus years, his bank account was still recovering from the sting of an engine swap that was priced nearly 40 percent higher than the last one.