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

Also: USAF Reaper Accident, Baikonur Damage, Horizon eVTOL IFR/FIKI, New Glenn Update

Honda has outlined its clearest timeline yet for its entry into the world of electric vertical-lift, confirming that its first full-scale eVTOL prototype will be finished by the end of 2025. The inaugural flight is slated for March 2026, marking the company’s transition from years of under-the-radar development to a much more public testing phase. Arctus Aerospace announced it raised $2.6 million from Version One Ventures, South Park Commons, gradCapital, and several angel investors in a pre-seed round to accelerate the development of its large, unmanned aircraft intended to fly at 45,000 feet for up to 24 hours. Arctus said the funding will be deployed to establish one of the deepest full-stack unmanned aircraft manufacturing and engineering capabilities that will be built entirely in-house. Sam Bousfield, CEO of Samson Sky, has been granted his eigh

Industrial Assets Support Production Of Aerostructures And Components

Airbus announced it has closed on the transaction with Spirit AeroSystems for the acquisition of six industrial sites that produce aerostructures and components for Airbus commercial aircraft programs.

Also: Trailblazing Aviator Betty Stewart, Wind Farm Scrutiny, Chatham Ban Overturned, Airbus Shares Dive

A Thunderbird pilot, ID'ed alternately as Thunderbird 5 or Thunderbird 6, (but not yet confirmed officially) ejected from his/her Lockheed Martin F-16CM-52-CF Fighting Falcon Wednesday (12-03-25) during a training mission in California. The accident occurred near Trona Airport on an unoccupied dry lake bed area south of the airport in San Bernardino County. The pilot ejected safely just before the airframe impacted the ground. Air India somehow misplaced a 43-year-old Boeing 737-200 and forgot about it for over a decade. The Kolkata airport didn’t forget about the airplane though, and continued to add parking fees. The airline was oblivious until recently, when it received a parking bill that, over a 13-year period, accumulated to a total of 10 million Indian Rupees, about USD$120,000. Dynon has released SkyView HDX software version

You Can Just Shake The Magic 8-Ball So Much, Klyde

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Third-Edition Resource Guide is Getting Ready… But It’s Waiting on You

The third edition of the SportPlane Resource Guide—soon to launch as the expanded, fully digital eSPRG—is almost ready for release. The layout is there, dozens of instructional chapters are written, and hundreds of aircraft write-ups are complete. This edition will be bigger, more detailed, and easier to update than the previous 1,100-page print version (probably settling in at more than 2000 pages!), with the potential to far exceed even our own anticipations with S-LSA, E-LSA, ultralights, avionics, and accessories. The only major thing slowing it down is one simple piece: more data from manufacturers.

Dozens of Companies Unveiled Innovative Products Ahead of the 51st SnF Aerospace Expo

Kicking off the 51st SUN ‘n FUN Aerospace Expo, we hosted the second annual SnF Innovation Preview to give more than 20 companies just enough time in the spotlight to debut their new planes, products, engines, accessories, and more… In other words… it was a LOT of news, and it’s all still up for your viewing pleasure.

With The eSPRG Only Weeks Away From Its Start Date, A-AF Will Help To Support Sport Flyers, Worldwide

With the all-new and all-digital SportPlane Resource Guide getting ready for publication early next year, the Aero-News Network is pleased to announce yet another addition to the Airborne video news programming roster… Airborne-Affordable Flyers. Dedicated to keeping people up-to-date on the most affordable aspects of sport and general aviation, Airborne-Affordable Flyers is one of our most exciting offerings yet. A-AF will delve into more than just the current LSA community, but look at all aspects of aviation to examine and evaluate the most enjoyable, and most affordable, solutions to flying, operating, and owning aircraft in the 21st century.

From 2024 (YouTube Edition): FlightFlix Has What You Need For Mounting Cameras

While weathering the brief storm at Sun ‘n Fun 2024, ANN Editor-in-Chief Jim Campbell hunkered down for a chat with President and Co-Founder of MYGOFLIGHT Nic Martinez, taking a spell to check out their high-quality action camera mounting systems. MyGoFlight brought out its recent portfolio additions from FlightFlix, a whole host of camera mounting solutions tailor-made for aviation. Whether strapping a camera to a strut, a wing, or a tie-down, they’ve got a system worth trusting with a few hundred dollars’ worth of camera. For those sick of seeing vibrations, jitters, and rattling throughout their flight videos, Martinez highlights their proprietary VibeX tech, a vibration dampening mounting system that almost does away with the shakes entirely.

Controller’s Expectation That VW02 Would Have Departed Sooner Led To An Inadequate Scan And Loss Of Situational Awareness

Analysis: A Robinson R-44 helicopter N744AF, VW02 (View 02), and a Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse, N857PA were involved in a near midair collision (NMAC) approximately 1.7 miles west of the North Las Vegas Airport (VGT). At the time of the incident the VGT airport traffic control tower (ATCT) was staffed by two controllers with three personnel available. The local control 1 (LC1), local control 2 (LC2), local assist (LA1), and controller in charge (CIC) positions were all combined to the LC1 position. The ground control (GC), flight data (FD), and clearance delivery (CD) positions were combined at the GC position. According to ATC audio recordings and post event interviews, the LC1 controller had instructed N857PA to enter left traffic for runway 30L.