Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Covers Retraction Of Tail And Prop Into Vehicle For Driving
Sam Bousfield, CEO of Samson Sky, has been granted his eighth design patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and international patent offices for the Switchblade flying car that he designed. This newest patent covers the design of the unique tail fold and retraction mechanism of the vehicle that both flies and drives.
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Service Platform Collapses At Russia’s Only Crew-Capable Site
The successful launch of three crew members to the International Space Station on November 27 caused serious blast damage to the pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Russia’s only active site for crewed spaceflight missions. The launch was otherwise successful in transporting the two Roscosmos cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut safely to the station.
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Latest Model Is The Twin-Engine Ultralight MultiCruiser
Hummel Aircraft has been building its all-metal light sport and ultralight aircraft since the early 1980s when James Morris “Morry” Hummel built and for his first aircraft, what became known as the Hummelbird. After a long career in aviation manufacturing and engineering, Morry’s innovations and the company’s technical advancements have provided kit-built aircraft for homebuilders and enthusiasts for over four decades.
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Also: FedEx SAF, Archer Midnight Powertrain Tech, Rocket Lab Record, Perseverance Rover Find
EHang has logged a major milestone in the development of its pilotless air taxi, logging its first human-carrying flight in the urban Middle East. Working alongside Qatar’s Ministry of Transport, the company flew its EH216-S autonomously between the Port of Doha and Katara Cultural Village in a series of trials designed to validate real-world air taxi operations. The Army’s 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade is running with the service’s push to boost drone integration by pairing Apaches, Black Hawks, and Chinooks with small unmanned aircraft to handle reconnaissance, route surveillance, and other jobs that used to rely on pilots squinting out the window. One of the bigger shifts is happening in the field workshops. The debut of SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 booster didn’t exactly go as planned, with its test campaign starting an
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Military Heritage Foundation Housed, Maintained ‘Island Doll’ Since 1980s
The World War II-era Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon “Island Doll” was recently ferried to the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as a generous donation from the American Military Heritage Foundation. The Foundation had acquired the aircraft in the mid-1980s and housed and maintained it at the Indianapolis Regional Airport (KMQJ) in Greenfield, Indiana.
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Also: Elfin 20 Journey, BASE Jumper Rescue, Pipistrel Makes Waves, EAA Hall of Fame, Affordable Flying Expo 2026
Like most of the industry, kit manufacturer Sonex has been hit by the ever-increasing costs of parts and materials, and is being forced to pass some of the burden off to customers beginning December 15. Still, Sonex’s prices remain well under par, with many of its complete airframe kits available for under $40,000. The company detailed the price shifts for Complete Airframe Kits, Quick Build Kits, and AeroVee engine packages. Produced jointly by the Aero-News Network and SUN ’n FUN—in addition to the pre-show SNF Innovation Preview, the all-week SUN ’n FUN Digital Daily, Saturday Flight Live coverage, and our extensive daily news and video output—we are introducing something significant. MOSAIC Day Debuts Thursday at SUN ’n FUN and will designate Thursday as MOSAIC Day, featuring a full day of f
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Stationed In Albuquerque For Bombardier Training
The Lobo Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, based in Moriarty, New Mexico, is in the process of rebuilding a World War II-era Beechcraft AT-11 Kansan that was used to train bombardier students, and after thousands of those students flew her, the aircraft is being restored to its former glory.
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Also: 1st-Ever Space Crime Was a Fraud, IAE Buys Diamonds, Kennon Bows Out, Perseverance Rover
An interesting moment came about this past Sunday as ANN CEO, Jim Campbell, noted that the Aero-News Network came into being 30 years ago. ANN was the first actual aviation online news service, and in the ensuing 30 years, has amassed an extraordinary record... over 600,000 stories, a total of videos, podcasts, Airborne and Aero-TV features surpassing 10,000 programs... The debut of SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 booster didn’t exactly go as planned, with its test campaign starting and ending before the sun even rose. Booster 18 suffered a major structural failure partway into what was supposed to be a long list of cryogenic checks and pressure trials at Massey’s Test Site. The US National Archives has declassified more than 4,600 pages of radio communications, maps, tables, and logs related to the disappearance of legendary aviator
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Mon, Dec 01, 2025
Also: Bell 505 on SAF, NYPA Gets Flak For BizAv 'Abuse', FAA Venezuela Caution, Horizon Update
Textron Aviation has confirmed it will be ending production of the Beechcraft Bonanza G36 and Baron G58, after nearly 80 years of continuous manufacturing. The company is moving toward new products such as the Beechcraft Denali, but promises to support the thousands of Barons and Bonanzas currently flying worldwide. The announcement brings to an end one of the longest production runs in the history of aviation. The first flight of the Bonanza was in December 1945 and production began in 1947. Archer Aviation’s plan to turn Hawthorne Airport into the heart of its Los Angeles air-taxi network earned it a big “WELCOME” from the mayor… and exactly the opposite from local NIMBYs. Members of the community started the predictable “Hawthorne Quiet Skies” group to express both confusion and disappointment with the
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