Also: Flt Students Abandoned, SERIOUS Balloon Action, CubCrafters Midwest, NYC Heliport Saved

Suk Min Choi, known to his million-plus YouTube subscribers as Alex Choi, has been arrested and faces federal charges for “causing the placement of an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft.” The charges result from Choi’s allegedly being the mastermind behind a scheme to create a video showing a Lamborghini speeding and doing donuts on a dry lake bed as passengers in a low-flying helicopter shoot fireworks aimed at the car. A well-filmed clip began circulating over the weekend, showing a Harbour Air seaplane as it began its takeoff roll and collided with a boat. The aircraft was operating under Harbour Air, a seaplane operator in Vancouver, Canada. The firm is a common sight there, with a handful of single-engine, high-wing turboprops tethered to the dock in between a constant stream of revenue flights. Thankfully, there we

Also: Starliner Launches, Boeing Loses Suit, AirVenture Gains Lancaster, AgEagle Sale

Starship’s 4th Flight test was an engineering and visual success... providing a visual feast along much of the 66 minute journey. Starship successfully lifted off at 7:50 a.m. CT from Starbase in Texas, and completed a full-duration ascent burn. The booster’s flight ended with a landing burn and soft splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico. A handful of congressional Republican vets took a leap from a vintage C-47 Skytrain in Florida, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the beach landings on D-Day. A team of House Republicans was set to jump out of a C-47 Skytrain in commemoration of D-Day's 80th Anniversary, joined by a delegation to Normandy, France. DJI has made the first delivery tests on Mount Everest for some serious bragging rights. The company joined hands with Nepalese drone specialist Airlift, making use of the infamously bruta

Also: USN Jet Returns, MD530F Special Missions, PAL Aerospace, FedEx Picket

Students of Atlantis Aviation Flight school are apparently either out the total sum of their prepaid flight training, or waiting on probate to get on with their careers, after the owners of the school died in an aircraft accident last March. Several students caught the attention of local news, sharing their plight with reporters in the hopes of continuing on with their training. Atlantis Aviation is, or was, a flight school offering students the usual zero-to-hero flight training experience in addition to the standard Part 61 experience. Nolinor Aviation has acquired a second Cessna 172 for its Become a Pilot program. This Cessna 172 (C-172), rich in history and carefully restored, will be made available to Nolinor Aviation employees, offering an exceptional pilot training opportunity. The Flight Simulation Association completed a survey of pilots and air traffic con

Also: Virgin Galactic, TBMOPA’s European Convention, B-29 Doc and B-25 Berlin Express, Fairchild XNQ-1

An astronaut who was part of what was then mankind's greatest adventure... the first flight to orbit the moon and return back, has died in an accident while flying a T-34. Bill Anders, is credited with the famous Earthrise photo of the Earth coming up over the moon (taken aboard Apollo 8), and was confirmed to be the only occupant of the aircraft. Anders was 90 years old and his loss was confirmed by his son, Greg. Piper has received Flight into Known Icing (FIKI) certification from the FAA for its M700 FURY. The FIKI system comes standard on all M700 FURY aircraft, and is an electromechanical expulsion deicing system located on the tail as well as the leading edge of the wing. The recent FAA reauthorization brings a much-needed change to a long-running problem regarding air show restrictions. The law also specifically allows for the

A Fun LSA That Doubles As a Crop Duster?

The DragonFly was one of the most intriguing little planes on the line at this year's Sun 'n Fun 2024, so Jim Campbell of ANN made sure to stop by and check it out. Randy Dorsey of Pitman Air took a moment to talk it up and go over the funky little bird. Ever seen a light sport pull double duty as a crop duster? That's the DragonFly's claim to fame, part of its Australian DNA. The DragonFly is meant to be affordable, compact, and fun, but still able to pull its weight around the farm for those who want more than just a "sunny day convertible" of a plane. Dorsey thinks the DragonFly brand is just getting started, since its simplicity, thrill, and reliability gives it a whole lot of adaptability.

Massive Aviation News Event Started 2024 Off With a Plethora of Exciting Info

Last year, we introduced the SnF Innovation Preview in which 25 companies introduced over 30 new planes, products, engines, accessories, and more… in other words… a LOT of news. Rotax previewed the powerful 916iS, CubCrafters showcased the Carbon Cub UL, Bose introduced the A30, Aerox revealed the Boomula… and so much more. This year, we went beyond that... way beyond all that, with a larger selection of news announcements that covered ALL aspects of sport, general and commercial aviation... all at the start of the 50th Annual SUN n FUN Aerospace Expo... the undisputed start to the aviation year. This year was also a major news-breaker... especially with the announcement that the DeltaHawk Diesel engine folks were working with Piper Aircraft on an STC for the PA44 Seminole. It also hosted the first forma

Also: uAvionix AV-Link, Does Simming Make Better Pilots?, World Games, AMA National Fun Fly

Czech sportplane manufacturer Direct Fly has finished delivering its 200th ALTO NG, the latest iteration of their 600-kg sportplane. The Alto was previously offered as the Alto 912 TG model, sporting some light tweaks and changes for improved stiffness and durability. The Rotax folks have published a Service Bulletin after issues were noted that may affect all R915i and R916i series engines. Rotax operators have reported occasional, isolated, cases a momentary slipping of the overload clutch -- which may lead to a slight exceedance of the maximum rpm limit, followed by the engine rpm quickly normalizing. In perusing over 1,000 variations of sport aircraft for the current SportPlane Resource Guide, a few designs definitely catch the eye. One of the most startling of these is an all-composite, V-Tail machine that appears to offer an extraordinarily low

Klyde Wants NOTHING To Do With The Red Shirt...

FMI: www.klydemorris.com

Easy Online Forms Available For Sport Plane Manufacturers And Suppliers To Be Listed In The Upcoming eSPRG

Work on the SportPlane Resource Guide is going well… Albeit a little bit behind schedule, because as we got into this process, things became a bit more complicated simply because we learned we could do an even better job at certain aspects of this project than we thought from the beginning. They say that the enemy of true quality is the phrase "good enough" and we want to be far more than “good enough.” FMI: www.sportplane.com, Online eSPRG Vendor Survey Form, Online eSPRG Sp

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.