“Big Things Have Small Beginnings”

Set for November 6–8, 2025 at Lakeland Linder International Airport (LAL) in Lakeland, Florida, the first-ever Affordable Flying Expo (AFE) is tailor-made for aviation enthusiasts, home-builders, sport pilots and newcomers alike. This three-day gathering brings together indoor exhibits, flying demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and one of the first major public forums dedicated to the newly implemented MOSAIC (Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification) rule. What truly sets this expo apart is the dedication of the vendors — the aircraft designers, kit-builders, avionics specialists, flight-training schools and parts suppliers — who

Also: Louisville UPS Crash Aftermath, Taiwan Boosts Pilot Pool, Spartan Acquires, DON’T MISS the MOSAIC Town Hall!

This three-day Affordable Flying Expo brings together indoor exhibits, flying demonstrations, hands-on workshops, and one of the first major public forums dedicated to the newly implemented MOSAIC rule. What truly sets this expo apart is the dedication of the vendors — the aircraft designers, kit-builders, avionics specialists, flight-training schools and parts suppliers — who are rallying around the theme of affordable aviation in a MOSAIC world. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on November 4 that, if t

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Elon Musk is once again promising the impossible…this time, in the form of a Tesla that flies. Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk said the company is “getting close” to demonstrating a prototype of what he dubbed “crazy, crazy technology.” The comment came during a discussion about the long-delayed Tesla Roadster: a model first unveiled in 2017 and postponed every year since its planned 2020 debut. Boeing announced the completion of the $10.55 billion sale of assets from its Digital Aviation Solutions business unit to pri

Washington National, LaGuardia, and Dallas-Fort Worth Experienced False Alarms

Over a two-day span, three of the US’s busiest commercial airports were the subjects of unrelated phony bomb threats, with direct impacts ranging from aircraft evacuations to hour-long ground stops. The most recent incident, on November 4 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), left multiple diversions and rippling delays in its wake.

52 Aviation Associations And Trade Groups Stand United

The Modern Skies Coalition, a broad-based collection of 52 aviation stakeholders including the National Business Aviation Association, the National Air Transportation Association, the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and 48 additional aviation organizations and trade associations, stand united in releasing the statement below calling on Congress to end the government shutdown:

Twice Daily Commuter Flights Between Manhattan And Westchester County

Blade Urban Air Mobility, a division of Joby Aviation, announced it will being a pilot commuter flight program between Manhattan and Westchester County Airport, beginning in December.

Expands Network In Southwest With 3rd New Mexico Location

Atlantic Aviation announced it acquired Jet Center at Santa Fe, at the Santa Fe Regional Airport (KSAF). The acquisition is the network’s third in New Mexico and brings its solid reputation for service and safety to a location already known for its unique historical architecture and spectacular scenery.

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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.

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Anduril Industries’ YFQ-44A Collaborative Combat Aircraft was flown for the first time on October 31, 2025, as announced by the U.S. Air Force, who also confirmed that a decision about production of the CAA is still expected during FY2026 despite the ongoing government shutdown. The Air Force sent out a press release announcing the first flight but there were not many details about what the YFQ-44A actually did, how long it flew, or where it ended. Merlin, developer of autonomous flight technology for the defense sector, announced it ha

Also: AFE25 Tickets!, Jamaica Recovery, E-Aircraft at Boeing Fld, Diamond DA50 RG Cert

Elon Musk is once again promising the impossible…this time, in the form of a Tesla that flies. Speaking on The Joe Rogan Experience, Musk said the company is “getting close” to demonstrating a prototype of what he dubbed “crazy, crazy technology.” The comment came during a discussion about the long-delayed Tesla Roadster: a model first unveiled in 2017 and postponed every year since its planned 2020 debut. Boeing announced the completion of the $10.55 billion sale of assets from its Digital Aviation Solutions business unit to private equi

Also Achieves Cybersecurity Maturity Certification Level 2

VerdeGo Aero, the Daytona Beach, Florida-based developer of electric aircraft, announced it has been awarded a NASA contract under its SBIR Phase II Ignite program for demonstrating the mission capability advantages of a hybrid-electric VTOL rotorcraft. The Phase II award builds on the successful completion of a Phase I project that focused on the conceptual application and integration of VerdeGo’s VH-3 piston hybrid-electric in four aircraft designs that include CTOL, VTOL, and STOL configurations.

Also: AFE25 Ticket Info, Flying Into AFE, Deltahawk Steps WAY Up, SnF Invaluable to AFE25

OK... this is an insane record... and one that is likely to stand for a while as we’re not sure there are many who would choose to challenge it. A next-gen CubCrafters Carbon Cub UL has climbed to a verified altitude of 37,609 feet above sea level over the California coast just a few days ago — setting what CubCrafters claims to be an unofficial new world altitude record for Cub-type aircraft (and let’s face it, it’s not likely that most Cub-types have seen anywhere near HALF that altitude. The Affordable Flying Expo is building up a h

Expands Heavy Mx Capacity As Largest MRO In North America

AAR Corp. announced the acquisition of HAECO Americas from HAECO Group to expand its heavy maintenance capacity and bolster its position as the largest independent aircraft MRO operation in North America. The deal includes the HAECO Group’s two large heavy maintenance facilities in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Lake Citym Florida.

Setting The Stage For Type Inspection Authorization By FAA Pilots

Joby Aviation announced the start of power-on testing of the first of its FAA-conforming aircraft built for TIA, or Type Inspection Authorization, that is the lead-up to “for credit” flight tests with FAA pilots operating the aircraft. Joby will now proceed to conduct thousands of hardware and software integration tests prior to the start of flight testing.

Commits For 10 737-8 And Four 787-9 Aircraft

Somon Air, the national airline of Tajikistan, and Boeing announced the airline committed to purchase up to 14 Boeing airliners, to include four 787 Dreamliners and 10 737 MAX aircraft. The order will support Somon Air’s fleet expansion internationally and modernizes its all-737 single-aisle fleet.

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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 Pri

A "No Contrail Day..." Really, Klyde?

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

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.

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.

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 ev

From 2023 (YouTube Edition): Putting the ANT in Antihero

A Beech Starship speeds along at altitude. “Deflectors on!” a voice from within the aircraft cries. “Look! Over there!” the voice continues, “A droid battle star. I’ll bet they’ve detected us!” A second voice, this time from the Starship’s cockpit. “It’s a real pain being the pilot of a Beech Starship the day after the owner saw Star Wars.” “Forget TCAS,” the first voice exclaims. “Use the Force!”

While On The Base Leg Of The Airport Traffic Pattern The Right Main Landing Gear Did Not Fully Extend

Analysis: Both pilots reported that after performing airwork they returned to the departure airport where multiple uneventful full stop landings were performed. They then departed and while on the base leg of the airport traffic pattern the right main landing gear did not fully extend. At that point the designated pilot examiner (DPE) took the controls from the pilot applicant, and during the course of 90 minutes, made multiple attempts to fully lower the right main landing gear that were ultimately unsuccessful.

We’re Hiring Editors, Developers, Video Journalists, Oh My!

Yes, despite the last few years being one of the most unpredictable stretches in aviation media we can remember, ANN is still standing… and somehow, still expanding. The pandemic didn’t exactly make life easy, but we’ve come through it with enough energy to tackle our next round of projects. Fortunately for you, they are already stacking up faster than we can keep up with. Moving forward, we’ll be ramping up efforts on an expanded “Airborne Unlimited,” launching the third version of the SportPlane Resource Guide in a digital format, rolling out coverage for all the greatest airshows, and diving into new Aero-Reality programmin

And That's But One Of Over A Dozen Major Developments Planned For The Next Year Or So

Aero-News Network is now available on Roku and Amazon FireTV! That’s right folks. You can now get your daily dose of aviation news… right on the ol' giggle box! This is an EPIC development for our network, one of many to come, and we’re thrilled to offer you this new way to watch our news programming. Whether you’re a traditional website reader, podcast listener, or YouTube subscriber, we’re dedicated to giving you quality, honest, aviation news that you can trust and broadening our reach and audience aggressively in the coming years, so that we may both Grow and Inform the aviatio

SportPlane Resource Guide (NG) Volume 3 is Bigger, Bolder, and a Whole Lot Easier to Carry

The SportPlane Resource Guide has, like many old kit builds, been collecting dust for years. Over the next year, the book is finally getting a third edition…and this time, it's going digital -- uit HAS to... its simply too big to carry around. Aero-News Network is well on its way to debuting the new e-book with a renewed focus on affordable, entry-level flying mach

Brand New! Avoid The Need For A Comeback... Get Your Marketing Right, Right Now!

Some time ago, the Aero-News Network, responding to numerous requests, established a marketing and communications sister company by the name of AEROPRENEUER... and it's been doing amazing work under these difficult circumstances -- and getting results! We're getting rave reviews from our clients, and working hard to earn the trust of a number of new marketing partners along the way. ANN's Amber Cedroni has come up with a few tips to help aero-businesses stay alive in these tough times, and

Whether You’re a Reader, Watcher, or Listener, ANN Has Got the Coverage You Need

Aero-News Network has been delivering aviation and aerospace news for thirty years (!!!), and by now, we’ve wiggled our way onto just about every platform out there. Whether you’d rather read, watch, or stream, there’s a way to keep ANN in your daily routine. Here’s a quick rundown of where you can find us...  

Aero Linx: Ercoupe Owners Club We fly an airplane that was the peak of pre-World War II development. It took more than a decade and a half before the features of the Ercoupe were the norm in civil aviation. Yet the industry finally  followed. The members of the Ercoupe Owners Club provide each other mutual support as we keep these classic aircraft in the air. Along the way, we've found that Coupe people are a little bit special, themselves.

Minimum Friction Level The friction level specified in AC 150/5320-12, Measurement, Construction, and Maintenance of Skid Resistant Airport Pavement Surfaces, that represents the minimum recommended wet pavement surface friction value for any turbojet aircraft engaged in LAHSO. This value will vary with the particular friction measurement equipment used. 

Update: This Is How To Get To Us!

Aero-News relocated its Global Headquarters from one aviation centric location some time ago... near Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine... to a spot near both Cecil Field and Herlong Airport. Aero-News Network 1335 Kingsley Ave., #831, Orange Park, FL, 32067. 863-299-8680

“Beginning this aircraft subsystem testing is the culmination of more than a decade of focused engineering and certification refinements. This is the moment where our intended type design, our manufacturing process, and our certification strategy converge into one physical asset. It validates that we can design a safe aircraft and produce it reliably. This first testing step is one of the most important milestones in Joby’s history to date and puts us closer than ever to achieving FAA certification.” Source: Didier Papadopoulos, President of Aircraft OEM at Joby, speaking up as Joby Aviation announced the start of power-on testing of the first of its FAA-conforming aircraft built for TIA, or Type Inspe