I purchased three (3) planes and I was looking at the aircraft listing under my profile. I notice that each one had an expiration date which read Economy Expires on date......., which is a year from the purchase date. Is this telling me that after one year, I will not be able to use the software unless I renew?

Curently the Expiration date means nothing, it's just internal technical info.
Also, to Economy class users the Extended Download Service (EDS) is temporarily available free of charge.

But in future, we will charge for the Extended Download Service and lost Check-in info recovery.
Why: to cover the additional traffic and administration resources use, as many companies do.
To avoid the extra charge please keep your downloads and Check-in info safe!

Important: we are not planning to introduce any product renewal fee. That means if you keep your downloads and Check-in info safe you will be able to use any of our products unlimited time.