Aircraft Features Completely New Cockpit, Autoland, Other Innovations

Pilatus Aircraft announced the delivery of its first PC-12 PRO aircraft to a U.S. customer. The new owners, Ravi and Pheroza Arcot, received the aircraft that represents the latest evolution of the world’s best-selling single-engine turboprop at the company’s North American headquarters and completion facility at Rocky Mountain Metro Airport (KBJC) in Broomfield, Colorado.

Also: Drone Rulemaking Stalled, LA County FD Adds FIREHAWKs, Wilsbach Confirmed, CAF Honors Vet

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. BASE jumping has been prohibited in all national parks since the 1980s. One of the more intriguing features of the 2025 Affordable Flying Expo, scheduled for November 6-8 at the Sun n Fun Aerospace Expo campus is a Friday event we call the MOSAIC Town Hall. Scheduled for Friday, November 7th at 1800ET, the MOSAIC Town Hall will be presented in the nearby Prop 75 building and webcast LIVE via www.airborne-live.net and for the attending audience. Textron Aviation Defense announced production plans for the UJTS, or Undergraduate Jet Training System program. That

Committed To Championing Sustainability Through Alternative Fuels

The National Business Aviation Association supports the Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a partnership of more than 20 companies – including NBAA – and key trade associations dedicated to scaling the adoption and production of sustainable aviation fuels.

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

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, sched

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

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

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): New Owners Look to Revitalize Popular Ultralight Marque

Kolb Aircraft Company is a Kentucky-based manufacturer of kit-built ultralight aircraft. Founded in 1980 by Homer Kolb—who flew his initial design, the Kolb Flyer, in 1970—the company has marketed a dozen models of ultralight and experimental flying-machines, selling and delivering over 3,500 specimens in the last 43-years. In 1999, the company was sold to a group of investors; moved to London, Kentucky; and renamed The New Kolb Aircraft Company. Re-mastered, relocated, and rebranded, the New Kolb concern introduced several fresh models to the legacy Kolb lineup, to include the Pelican and the Super Sport.

About 25 Days (9.3 Hours) Before The Accident, The Airframe Was Modified With Different Landing Gear Legs, Wheels, And Brakes

Analysis: The pilot reported that during the landing roll on the dry grass strip, he was making corrections with the brakes and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted. The pilot assumed that he was “a bit too aggressive” with the brakes. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing strut and the rudder. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that the accident could have been prevented by “less or no excessive braking” during the landing roll.

Aero Linx: The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a United Nations agency which helps 193 countries to cooperate together and share their skies to their mutual benefit. Since it was established in 1944, ICAO’s support and coordination has helped countries to diplomatically and technically realize a uniquely rapid and dependable network of global air mobility, connecting families, cultures, and businesses all over the world, and promoting sustainable growth and socio-economic prosperity wherever aircraft fly.