Lt. Col. Prevendar Tags in as Thunderbird 1 for 2026-2027 Show Seasons

The US Air Force’s Thunderbirds demonstration team closed out the 2025 show season with an abrupt shift in plans, announcing a last-second change to their 2026-2027 Commander and Thunderbird 1 pilot. As expected, no drama was acknowledged…just “unique team requirements” that led them to reverse the earlier selection and install Lt. Col. Alexander “Knight” Prevendar as the next Commander/Leader.

Deadheading Crews Now Bypass Top-Tier Customers for First Class

A change to American Airlines’ upgrade policy for deadheading pilots has drawn quick controversy, with frequent flyers and airline employees split on whether the move is safety-enhancing or tone-deaf. Deadheading pilots now receive automatic priority over even the airline’s highest-status customers when first-class seats are available.

The Upgraded Vehicle Didn’t Even Make It to Sunrise

The debut of SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 booster didn’t exactly go as planned, with its test campaign starting and ending before the sun even rose. Booster 18 suffered a major structural failure partway into what was supposed to be a long list of cryogenic checks and pressure trials at Massey’s.

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EHang has logged a major milestone in the development of its pilotless air taxi, logging its first human-carrying flight in the urban Middle East. Working alongside Qatar’s Ministry of Transport, the company flew its EH216-S autonomously between the Port of Doha and Katara Cultural Village in a series of trials designed to validate real-world air taxi operations. The Army’s 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade is running with the service’s push to boost drone integration by pairing Apaches, Black Hawks, and Chinooks with small unmanned aircraft to handle reconnaissance, route surveillance, and other jobs that used to rely on pilots squinting out the window. One of the bigger shifts is happening in the field workshops. The debut of SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 booster didn’t exactly go as planned, with its test campaign starting and endin

Yes... We Will Be On A Holiday Schedule, Starting With 'Turkey Day' As the Aero-News staff observes the US holiday of Thanksgiving on Thursday, we wanted to let our readers know that ANN will still be on the job, reporting breaking news in the aviation and aerospace fields as it happens -- in Real Time -- just like always -- for over 30 years. Aero-TV will present a few of our classic episodes over the rest of this week, while still shooting and editing furiously during non-Turkey-consumption periods. New Aero-TV programing resumes on Monday. It is also our 30th year of publication and we'll have a few more things to say about that shortly...

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Like most of the industry, kit manufacturer Sonex has been hit by the ever-increasing costs of parts and materials, and is being forced to pass some of the burden off to customers beginning December 15. Still, Sonex’s prices remain well under par, with many of its complete airframe kits available for under $40,000. The company detailed the price shifts for Complete Airframe Kits, Quick Build Kits, and AeroVee engine packages. Produced jointly by the Aero-News Network and SUN ’n FUN—in addition to the pre-show SNF Innovation Preview, the all-week SUN ’n FUN Digital Daily, Saturday Flight Live coverage, and our extensive daily news and video output—we are introducing something significant. MOSAIC Day Debuts Thursday at SUN ’n FUN and will designate Thursday as MOSAIC Day, featuring a full day of f

Special Mission Aircraft Enhance Country’s Surveillance And Emergency Response

Diamond Aircraft announced it has delivered three of its DA62 MPP multi-purpose platform, special mission aircraft to the Greek Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection. These aircraft will significantly enhance Greece’s capabilities for aerial surveillance and emergency response.

Fatality is the Seventh Tied to Longmont’s Mile-Hi Skydiving Since 2018

A 60-year-old skydiver passed away on November 16 after his parachute did not fully open during a solo jump with Mile-Hi Skydiving in Longmont. Since 2018, at least seven fatalities have been tied to this popular site, representing more than 7 percent of US skydiving deaths in the last 7 years.

ODAA, FAA Provided Funding Support For Major Improvement

Hooker Municipal Airport (O45) in Hooker, Oklahoma, celebrated the completion of a major infrastructure upgrade with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its shiny new self-serve fuel system on November 17, 2025. The new system provides both 100LL and Jet A.

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An interesting moment came about this past Sunday as ANN CEO, Jim Campbell, noted that the Aero-News Network came into being 30 years ago. ANN was the first actual aviation online news service, and in the ensuing 30 years, has amassed an extraordinary record... over 600,000 stories, a total of videos, podcasts, Airborne and Aero-TV features surpassing 10,000 programs... The debut of SpaceX’s Starship Version 3 booster didn’t exactly go as planned, with its test campaign starting and ending before the sun even rose. Booster 18 suffered a major structural failure partway into what was supposed to be a long list of cryogenic checks and pressure trials at Massey’s Test Site. The US National Archives has declassified more than 4,600 pages of radio communications, maps, tables, and logs related to the disappearance of legendary aviator