Parachute Landing In Kazakhstan Completes Eight-Month Science Mission

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky returned to Earth on December 9 after accomplishing an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The science mission was for the benefit of future space exploration as well as life on Earth.

Whole Family of NA Engines Now Mates Up to Most of Sonex Lineup

Cooper Aircraft Corporation has expanded support for Rotax installations with a new mount for naturally aspirated engines. The new mounts cover the Highwing, Legacy, B Model, Onex, Sonex, Waiex, and Xenos. The mounts are delivered in white, and will mount up the Rotax 912UL, 912ULS, 912iS, 914UL, 915iS and 916iS. Currently, the team is working on turbocharged Rotax installations, but that will come later on once the creases are all ironed out.

Boeing-Backed Regional Plane Goes Public With 450 Pre-Orders

EVIO has unveiled the product of more than eight years of rigorous development: the EVIO 810 hybrid-electric regional aircraft… and a lengthy list of customers to go with it. The Montreal-based company has secured conditional agreements and options for 450 airplanes, setting the stage for an entry into service in the early 2030s.

Also: Airbus Acquisition, USCG Helo Sniper, Remember Pearl Harbor, New Thunderbird 1

Gulfstream’s newest addition to its next-gen lineup, the super-midsize G300, is officially airborne. The jet lifted off from Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV), staying in the air for 2 hours and 25 minutes. The crew took the aircraft to 30,000 feet and cruised at Mach 0.75, checking off the major boxes needed to kick off the flight-test campaign. The Trump administration has officially locked in its pick to spearhead the biggest upgrade to America’s air traffic control system in decades. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford announced on December 4 that Virginia-based national security company Peraton has been selected as the program’s Prime Integrator. Aero-News friends over at Stop ADS-B Abuse have long profiled the infernal systems  where ADS-B data can track aircraft activity for fully-automated bill

Also: AirVenture Tkts, Pipistrel TC, Samson Patent, Kolb Aircraft Resumes Production

The FAA has released an updated set of advisory circulars to support the transition to the long-awaited Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) rule, offering new direction for pilots, instructors, and light-sport repairmen. The documents, published November 14, aim to align long-standing guidance with the performance-based system that will replace the outdated light-sport framework when MOSAIC takes effect in 2026. Dynon has released SkyView HDX software version 17.4, bringing a fresh round of upgrades and quality-of-life improvements to its flagship experimental avionics suite. The update centers on improving usability, expanding hardware compatibility, and ensuring the system remains current with global data models and evolving technology. Attendees and exhibitors of the Affordable Flying Expo were the first to hear about a powerful new ini

Bigger Cabin Can Actually Haul All the Average Airline Pax’ Crap

The VX4 program has borne new fruit in the Valo, a 6-passenger eVTOL from Vertical Aerospace. If you've seen the VX4, you've seen most of this one, too, but now it's got some real airline bonafides. Vertical made sure you could take the average airline passenger with all their usual load: A big roller bag and a "carryon" that's 0.002" away from the maximum allowed size...  

Also: Project Talon, McFarlane Acquisition, Sky-Tec Service, JPL Earth Helo Tests

Bombardier has earned a round of applause from the business aviation community, celebrating the formal entry into service of what it calls the “fastest civil aircraft since the Concorde.” Keys to the first Global 8000 were turned over to loyal customer and GFL Environmental CEO Patrick Dovigi on December 8. The Global 8000 comes with a headline-grabbing Mach 0.95 top speed, a certified 8,000-nautical-mile range, and a cabin altitude of just 2,691 feet at cruise. California Representative Darrell Issa (CA-48) announced the finalized 2026 National Defense Authorization Act includes his legislation that permits U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams (Ret.) to be eligible to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. The NDAA is expected to be approved by the House and Senate in the coming days before heading to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

Also: Cosmonaut Kicked Out, Airbus Scales Back, AF Silver Star, Russian A-60 Clobbered

A Samaritan’s Purse humanitarian flight was hijacked on Tuesday, December 2, while attempting to supply a mobile medical unit in South Sudan. Authorities were able to meet the aircraft on the ground and take the suspect into custody without further incident. The aircraft involved was one of the organization’s Cessna Grand Caravans that operates solely within Africa. The FAA has taken an unusually cooperative step towards pilot mental health reform, reducing the stabilization wait time for approved antidepressant medications from 6 months to just 3. Though this is, in itself, a basic change, it reflects years of industry efforts. Under the revised policy, airmen and air traffic control specialists may now submit Special Issuance medical packages after maintaining a stable dose of an approved antidepressant for at least three continuous months. The maid

Procurement Continues After a (Mostly) Successful Trial With the Helsing HX-2

Germany’s armed forces are moving ahead with what is shaping up to be a more than billion-dollar order of AI-enabled strike drones after a series of trials delivered hit probabilities north of 90 percent. If previous rumors prove true, this marks a stark contrast from earlier trials, which came back with performance numbers as low as 30 percent.

Also: Electra Goes Military, Miami Air Taxi, Hypersonics Lab, MagniX HeliStrom

Amazon’s Prime Air drones are back in the spotlight after one of its newest MK30 delivery drones struck an overhead internet cable in Waco, Texas. The incident serves as an unnerving replay of safety concerns that surfaced just two months ago involving back-to-back collisions with a crane in Arizona. The more recent event occurred on November 18. The drone, registered  N139PA, had just wrapped up a delivery when it “clipped a thin, overhead internet cable,” according to Amazon. The maiden flight of LandSpace’s ZhuQue-3 rocket on December 3 was one for the books… for both its successes and failures. The rocket reached orbit before the first stage booster recovery attempt resulted in an explosion near the edge of the landing pad. A soldier with no aviation experience was trained how to create flight plans and flew unmanned Black Hawk hel