With all due respect, Aces High has never lacked community involvement. I'd go so far to say I've not played another game where paying customers contributed as much to the main parts of the game as what the AH community has. Map design, skins (absolutely huge for a flight sim), new player training, and events are all handled either mostly or completely by paying customers who just want to contribute. If there's now a lack of those folks to serve, I'd suggest it's a symptom of lower player numbers rather than a cause of it.
And as for community toxicity, AH is normal or even tame compared to other games. Daily players can be very competitive and the game itself lends itself to competition, so there is banter, but if you think the AH community is toxic I feel bad for your feelings if you actually go outside regularly.