“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 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.

Check out https://affordableflying.net/attend/ Right Away and Get YOUR Tickets To the Affordable Flying Expo!

It's finally here, The Affordable Flying Expo begins November 6th! Thanks to the folks at Sun n Fun, we have a highly professional online ticketing apparatus at our disposal for this month’s Affordable Flying Expo. And we have other good news... use the code “AFE2025” and you can get $5 OFF the adult ticket price of $15 or even more for a three day pass. After an insane amount of work on the part of the ANN crew and more than a little hand holding by the event experts at Sun n Fun, the Expo is shaping up. We have an amazing series of seminars and forums in the works as well as a LIVE Friday Night Town Hall in which we will be dissecting MOSAIC in as great a detail as we can muster. 

NG-2 Slated For Liftoff November 9 From Cape Canaveral

Blue Origin’s New Glenn, a heavy-lift reusable rocket, is scheduled to lift off on Sunday November 9, during a 2.5-hour window that opens at 2:45 pm EST, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, sending the NASA ESCAPADE twin spacecraft on their mission to Mars.

FAA Chops Flights at 40 Major Airports, Disrupting Nearly 4,000 Flights Per Day

The FAA is cutting flights across 40 major U.S. airports, reducing national air traffic capacity by up to 10% as the government shutdown drags into its second month. Luckily for affected travelers, most airlines have taken the bullet and agreed to waive any refunds or flight changes.

Judge Grants Government’s Request to Drop the Criminal Conspiracy Case

A November 6 ruling confirmed that Boeing will not face criminal conspiracy charges related to the two 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people. The decision marks the end of one of the most substantial criminal cases ever brought against an aerospace manufacturer.

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 healthy head of steam as additional exhibitors join the mix and the list of aircraft on display grows by the day. Recently, we received confirmation of the Deltahawk RV14 test vehicle, and added both Tecnam and JMB Aircraft added 5, possibly as many as 7 additional aircraft to the growing static display lin

Also: Drone Rulemaking Stalled, LA County FD Adds FIREHAWKs, Wilsbach Confirmed, CAF Honors Vet

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. Scheduled for Friday, November 7th at 1800ET, the MOSAIC Town Hall will be presented in the nearby Prop 75 building and webcast LIVE via www.airborne-live.net and for the attending audience. Textron Aviation Defense announced production plans for the UJTS, or Undergraduate Jet Training System program. That

Also: Horizon Picks P&W PT6A, Army Buys 3 EagleNXT, First Hybrid-Electric Regional, Army Selects AEVEX

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 has gained the Stage of Involvement 2 with the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, an important step in the DO-178 certification audit cycle that enables regulators to have progressive visibility into the company’s software development program. The FAA finally has a decent excuse to put its drone

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 equity firm Thoma Bravo. The divestiture includes Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways, and those businesses will operate as the standalone company Jeppesen ForeFlight. The A220, once marketed for its profitability and efficiency, seems to be spending a lot more time parked than planned&h

Also: ISS Getting Old, Tecnam’s Flagship Trainer, New VX4, Atlantic Aviation 

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 equity firm Thoma Bravo. The divestiture includes Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways, and those businesses will operate as the standalone company Jeppesen ForeFlight. The A220, once marketed for its profitability and efficiency, seems to be spending a lot more time parked than planned&hellip