Check out https://affordableflying.net/attend/ Right Away and Get YOUR Tickets To the Affordable Flying Expo!

OK.... with a little over a month to go, it’s time to get serious! Thanks to the folks at Sun n Fun, we have a highly professional online ticketing apparatus at our disposal for next month’s Affordable Flying Expo. And we have other good news... use the code “AFE2025” and you can get $5 OFF the adult ticket price of $15 or even more for a three day pass. After an insane amount of work on the part of the ANN crew and more than a little hand holding by the event experts at Sun n Fun, the Expo is shaping up. We have an amazing series of seminars and forums in the works as well as a LIVE Friday Night Town Hall in which we will be dissecting MOSAIC in as great a detail as we can muster. 

Three Convicted Amid Shutdown-Related Surge in Illegal Base Jumps

Even with parts of the federal government on pause, Yosemite National Park isn’t letting BASE jumpers off easy. Park officials announced that three people were recently convicted for illegal parachute jumps off Yosemite’s formations amid a legal push to lift the 40-year ban against them.

Former Air Combat Command Lead Steps in After Gen. Allvin’s Unexpected Retirement

Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach has officially and unsurprisingly been confirmed as the next Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force following the slightly more surprising early retirement of Gen. David Allvin. The Senate approved his nomination by unanimous consent to close out October, giving the service a new top officer after several months of leadership shake-ups.

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 m

105-Year-Old Rescue Squadron Member Served In Philippines

The Commemorative Air Force Florida Wing recently honored 105-year-old WWII veteran Fred LaPonzina with a special flight in the Wing’s T-34 Mentor. Fred was a member of the 2nd Emergency Rescue Squadron, an Army Air Corps unit that flew PBY Catalinas on dangerous recovery operations in the Philippines.

First of Three Pilatus Jets Slated for Delivery in February 2026

The French Navy, under a lease from Jet Aviation France, will soon become the first military operator of the Pilatus PC-24 ‘Super Versatile Jet.’ Deliveries are slated to begin in February 2026, allowing the service to move out its disco-era Dassault Falcons.

MOSAIC-Centric Event Set For November 6-8, 2025... DON'T Miss It!

After a master strategy meeting this last week on the grounds of the Sun n Fun Aerospace Expo campus, details have been completed for the first MOSAIC-dedicated, MOSAIC-centric Affordable Flying Expo (AFE25). With the rule officially announced, AFE25 stands to be the best opportunity for MOSAIC-interested folks to get their questions answered and for the industry to show the aviation community that they are ready to serve this expanding niche. 

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 h

Premier Flight School Deal Includes Options For 6 Additional Aircraft

Diamond Aircraft announced it signed a new partnership with AELO Swiss Academy, a premier European flight training institution based at the Locarno Airport (LSZL) in Gordola, Switzerland. AELO is purchasing 12 DA20i Katana aircraft with options for an additional 6 for delivery in 2027.

Official Designation Joining Two Into One Airline Is Major Milestone

Pilots who fly for Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued a joint statement on reaching a major milestone in their merger integration after the FAA issued a Single Operating Certificate that officially designates the two carriers being recognized as one airline under federal regulation.