FLYING Finance Indices: 1,692 Piston Bills of Sale in September 2026; Median Closed Loan Rate Falls to 6.84%

FLYING Finance Research published its proprietary aircraft market indices on November 2, 2026, built from FAA registry filings, loans closed through FLYING Finance and live loan rates indexed to the 5-year Treasury.

The FAA registry recorded 1,692 piston aircraft bills of sale in September 2026, the first reliable baseline month, against 201,322 piston fixed-wing aircraft currently on the registry. The count covers unique piston fixed-wing aircraft with a non-correction bill-of-sale filing and excludes acquisitions by FAA-certificated dealers. Because family transfers, estate settlements and corporate restructurings are still included, the figure is an upper-bound indicator of market activity rather than a count of arm's-length purchases. The turbine companion indices show 147 turboprop and 336 jet bills of sale in September, with about 13,823 turboprops and 28,608 jets on the registry; turboshaft helicopters are excluded.

In the Q3 2026 Deal Index, based on loans closed through FLYING Finance, most of them certified piston, light sport and experimental aircraft, the median loan size fell 8.1% from Q3 2025. The median rate at close was 6.84%, compared with 7.29% in Q3 2025, and the spread over the 5-year Treasury was 2.34 points, down from 3.49 points a year earlier. Median loan-to-value was 83%, versus 85% in Q3 2025. The company said the median rate at close fell from 7.49% to 6.84% while the 5-year Treasury rose, and that single-quarter moves can be noisy because the figures are medians by quarter of closing.

The Rate Index, which sets starting rates for qualified borrowers as the 5-year Treasury plus a fixed spread per category, stands at 6.64% for certified piston, 6.53% for turboprop and jet, 7.16% for MOSAIC light sport, and 7.23% for experimental and kit aircraft. FLYING Finance has closed 405 aircraft loans totaling more than $115 million across 45 states.