Airport Crucial Base For Heroes Of Palisades and Eaton Fires

The Santa Monica Airport Authority, The Spirit of Santa Monica, and its Douglas Day committee announced a community event in support of keeping the airport open and to honor and celebrate the firefighters who were vital aerial assets during the Palisades and Eaton fires. Douglas Day will be held Sunday, September 21 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm local time.

Caused Disturbance In Cabin Traveling As Passenger

British Airways suspended one of its pilots who was drunk while traveling as a passenger and caused a disruption in the cabin, with the captain returning to the departure gate at Edinburgh Airport (EDI/EGPH) and delaying the flight to London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) for more than 90 minutes.

Says Proposal To FAA Poses ‘Extreme Safety Risk’

Rainmaker Technology requested FAA approval to deploy cloud-seeding flares on small drones, but is being opposed by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, who told the FAA that Rainmaker’s plan “fails to demonstrate an equivalent level of safety” and “poses an extreme safety risk.”

Spirit Airlines Recently Filed for its Second Bankruptcy in Under a Year

Spirit Airlines filed for its second bankruptcy in less than a year at the end of last month, and its competitors are now suggesting that this may be the beginning of the end. Speaking at an industry conference on Thursday, United CEO Scott Kirby called the ultra-low-cost carrier approach a “fundamentally broken business model” and argued that customers have already voted with their wallets.

Also: New NTSB Nom, Plan To Accelerate AAM, New GAMA Members, SC CAP Wing Honors Duke

Van’s Aircraft is giving potential buyers their final chance to pick up a kit for the RV-3, RV-4, and RV-6 aircraft before they move into retirement once and for all. The deadline for orders is September 30, 2025. After that, no more empennage, fuselage, wing, or finish kits will be offered for the three models. Northrop Grumman announced that the second B-21 Raider stealth bomber flew from Palmdale, California, to Edwards Air Force Base after conducting a strenuous test flight. At Edwards, the U.S. Air Force will move forward with integration of weapons and mission systems as well as sustainment upgrades developed through an enhanced software package. Some Israeli weapons manufacturers have been refused entry to one of the world’s biggest aerospace expos in the United Arab Emirates after receiving letters from the organizers of the

Also: Tidal Flight And DeltaHawk Collab, Russian Drone Strikes, Vertical Aerospace Transition, Power Bank Rules

The FAA aims to accelerate the deployment of AAM, or advanced air mobility vehicles. The new technologies are full of potential to transform aviation, expand connectivity in rural America, reduce road congestion in urban areas, and enhancing medical and emergency transport services. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and AeroVironment announced their collaboration successfully completed the first-ever air launch of a Switchblade 600 loitering munition system from a Block 5 MQ-9A Reaper UAS and marks the first time a Switchblade has been launched from an unmanned aircraft. The SB600 was successfully integrated with the MQ-9A and flight testing was conducted from July 22-24 at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds Test Range in Arizona. Personal aviation company Jetson recently completed the first-ever delivery of its ONE electric vertical t

Agency Publishes Request for Information for Low-Cost, Safety-Enhancing Lighting

The FAA is looking for cheaper, faster ways to light up America’s runways. On Thursday, September 11, the agency issued a Request for Information (RFI) for a new safety lighting system that could be deployed nationwide within the next two to three years.

Also: SUN ‘n FUN’s EarlyBird, Rotax Advanced Start, Girls in Aviation Day, Lockwood RV-916!

The recently concluded Midwest Aviation Expo, hosted by the Mt. Vernon Outland Airport is a modest but overtly positive event in the sport aviation scheme of things. Led by Airport Boss Chris Collins, one of the best in the business, the event has been going on for 17 years and emphasizes a close and personal opportunity for companies to display their wares and for potential customers to spend time looking them over... There are a LOT of SportPlanes out there and while ANN’s Chief Test Pilot, Jim Campbell, has flown well over a 1000 unique types, there are still a lot of birds on his “Must-Fly’ List. One of them was the Flight Design F2. Jim says the F2 IS NOT a modified CT series bird... it is distinctively different and is most definitely not your Father’s CT. The Rotax 912iS powered F2 is a spacious, easily acces

Flight Display Approval Big News At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025

ANN’s Jim Campbell talked with Dan Schwinn, President of Avidyne at the 2025 EAA AirVenture Air Show and Fly-in in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, about the Vantage 12 program, which had just received FAA certification the day before. Asked when the system will be available, Dan said they have been working on the first certified installation in a company-owned Cirrus to get all the details for that installation planned out, and the Vantage 12 will be available immediately through a small number of dealers. Production has been ramping up and availability will not be limited going forward. Dan said it’s probably their biggest news of the year and they were really happy to be able to announce it at AirVenture.

Also: Commercial A/C Certification, GMR Adds More Bell 429s, Helo Denial, John “Lucky” Luckadoo Flies West

CAF’s Col. Mark Novak has accumulated more than 1,000 flight hours in the two remaining airworthy B-29 Superfortress aircraft, Fifi and DOC, a feat that has not been accomplished in at least 65 years. Col. Novak has been a member of the CAF for more than 30 years and began flying Fifi in 2012 as the Second in Command. One year later he upgraded to Pilot in Command and flew the aircraft until 2022... On Friday, September 5, Texas pilots learned the hard way exactly how important it is to use tie-downs, with one plane being flipped by 75-mile-per-hour wind gusts and coming to rest on another. Several planes and hangars were damaged in the storms, but fortunately, no injuries were reported. The FAA has pushed back the expiration date for the Port-au-Prince flight ban from September 8, 2025, to March 7, 2026. The restriction, ori