Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Taraia Object Expedition Awaits Clearance from Kiribati Officials
    Purdue University’s Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute have confirmed that they will be putting their quest to find Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra aircraft on hold until next year. The announcement blamed seasonal weather that would jeopardize the expedition if it continued to wait for Kiribati’s green light. 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Restriction Forces Many Light Jets Off Its Most Affordable Plan
    SpaceX is clipping the wings on its Starlink Mini users. The company announced that starting November 7, 2025, the maximum supported operating speed for its Roam, Local Priority, and Global Priority plans will drop from 550 mph (471 knots) to 450 mph (391 knots). The change comes as part of what SpaceX calls “ongoing efforts to optimize network performance.” 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Influencer and Voice of the Pilot Mental Health Campaign Receives her Medical
    Months after the Federal Aviation Administration pulled her medical on bogus mental health-related claims, Xyla Foxlin has returned to the skies. While this is an exciting development, the Mental Health in Aviation Act remains in Congressional limbo… meaning the work is far from over. 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Palm Beach Residents Complain of Needless Noise, Medevac Delays
    Palm Beach residents aren’t too happy with the Federal Aviation Administration’s unexpected imposition of a 24/7 no-fly zone around President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, recently filing a formal complaint and setting up an emergency meeting. They claim that protecting the airspace even when Trump is not there betrays FAA values by creating needless noise and delays. 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Also: MOSAIC Town Hall, Lockheed Martin Venus, Electric Aircraft Cooling, Korea Taps Archer
    The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is at the front end of a year-long AI policing experiment, putting a completely autonomous, $200,000 squad car equipped with thermal imaging drones to the test. The so-called Police Unmanned Ground (PUG) Patrol Partner was developed and donated by Policing Lab and Perrone Robotics. The SUV comes on a Ford Explorer platform, fitted with 360-degree cameras, thermal sensors, license plate readers, and a rooftop drone dock. U.S. National Parks have prohibited the use of drones for any reason – absent a special permit – since 2014, yet increasing numbers of drone pilots have ignored the ban, and there are some reports that it’s gotten noticeably worse since the government shutdown, although that is not entirely clear. Conducting illegal drone flights can lead to penalties of up to $5,000 and six months in ja 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Also: Orlando Air Show Cancelled, ATC Staffing Shortages, CH-47F Block II Chinooks, Sustainable $$
    More than a decade of hard work, legal setbacks, and community advocacy has finally come to fruition, with MOSAIC officially becoming a final rule on October 22, 2025. Around three-quarters of the entire GA fleet now falls under the sport aviation category. The October 22 date is the initial effective date, with additional reforms scheduled for July 2026. Diamond Aircraft is responding to a wave of popular demand from flight schools, clubs, and owners by restarting the production line for its Katana 2-seat single-engine piston airplane. The Katana is well-known for its performance, reliability, and value in the training environment. The company will be building the Katana at its facility in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, and the DA20i will be powered by the Rotax 912 iSc3. One of the more intriguing features of the 2025 Affordable Flying Expo, scheduled fo 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Also: Beech M-346N, Metro Gains H160 EMS STC, New Bell Boss, Affordable Flying Expo Tickets NOW On Sale!
    Purdue University’s Research Foundation and the Archaeological Legacy Institute have confirmed that they will be putting their quest to find Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Electra aircraft on hold until next year. The announcement blamed seasonal weather that would jeopardize the expedition if it continued to wait for Kiribati’s green light. SpaceX is clipping the wings on its Starlink Mini users. The company announced that starting November 7, 2025, the maximum supported operating speed for its Roam, Local Priority, and Global Priority plans will drop from 550 mph (471 knots) to 450 mph (391 knots). The change comes as part of what SpaceX calls “ongoing efforts to optimize network performance.” Months after the Federal Aviation Administration pulled her medical on bogus mental health-related claims, Xyla Foxlin has retu 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Also: AIR Loses eVTOL Demonstrator, USCG Getting New Helos, Freighter Fleet To Grow, US Army Falls Behind
    Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, in partnership with NASA, successfully completed the first flight of the X-59, an innovative, quiet supersonic aircraft designed to return the capability of supersonic flight to commercial air travel. The X-59 launched from the Skunk Works facility at the U.S. Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, and landed near the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. King Schools is stepping up to help fill the gap left by the sudden closure of AceCFI, offering impacted CFIs a major discount to its Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC). AceCFI, an online FIRC service, ceased operations after its FAA authorization expired on September 30, 2025. While the FAA had officially removed AceCFI from its list of approved providers on August 29, few customers received any advance notice. Nearly a month in 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Expands Aeromedical Transport Readiness Capabilities And Completions
    Metro Aviation, provider of aeromedical transport solutions and aircraft completions, announced two significant advancements that bolster its support for critical-care rotorcraft operations: first, it is the first completion center able to offer an STC specific for Ems-interiors for the Airbus H160. Second, Metro has purchased twelve Airbus H140 helicopters that will be available for purchase after EMS-interior completions at its facility. 
 
     
     
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	 Thu, Oct 30, 2025
		
 
 
  
 
 Northrop Grumman Programs Enhance Viper Survivability, Lethality
    Northrop Grumman’s two programs, IVEWS (Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite) and SABR AESA (Scalable Agile Beam Radar – Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar together give the F-16 Fighting Falcon, also referred to as the Viper, powerful capabilities that provide unequalled survivability and lethality. 
 
     
     
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