Also: Commemorative Air Force, Skydiving Museum Fundraiser, SmartSky, Shadin Avionics

The Experimental Aviation Association has passed a big milestone for the once niche aviation organization.

Begun in 1953 by a group wanting grassroots, enthusiastic support for aviation, the EAA has grown to over 250,000 members for the first time in history. The quarter of a million mark comes at the tail end of a bonanza over the last 5 years that saw group membership grow by 25%. Daher's Kodiak celebrated a milestone when it recently delivered the 300th plane, an important moment for the high-wing, turboprop workhorse. Introduced in 2007 as a STOL option for those needing reliable, capacious, hardy aircraft for remote missions, the Kodiak saw itself quickly pressed into service in humanitarian, medical, governmental, and special mission sectors.
The Kodiak squared off with similar backwoods aircraft in offering an unimproved, dirt-strip performance takeoff distance of 1,000 feet, as well as a 1,000 nm range, performance metrics that obviated the need to choose between rotary aircraft and light jets. Recent years have been kind to Van's Aircraft, with their RV-series airplanes increasingly becoming a regular fixture at airports throughout the country. Originally begun as a kit manufacturer in 1970, the company opened their RV portfolio  with the single seat RV-3, eventually growing the line into aircraft with a host of landing gear, seating, and performance options. The most popular planes in the lineup over the years, the RV-6, -7, and -8 offer builders a competitive, affordable aircraft kit that brings private aviation into reach of the common man. The milestone of the 11,000th RV to fly was passed in Alberta, Canada by Lennard Nichols and Jay Conlin. All this -- and MORE in today's episode of Airborne!!!

Airborne 12.03.21 is chock full of info in this Daily News Episode, Friday, December 3rd, 2021... Presented by Aero-TV veteran videographer and Airborne Host Kimberly Kay. Kimberly is supported by ANN Chief Videographer Nathan Cremisino, as well as ANN CEO/Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell. This episode covers:

• MILESTONE! EAA Reaches 250,000-Members
• Daher Marks Kodiak Delivery #300
• Van's Aircraft Celebrates the 11,000th RV in Flight
• Commemorative Air Force Begins '12 Planes of Christmas'
• Skydiving Museum Fundraiser Nets $15K
• SmartSky to Offer Encrypted In-Flight Streaming
• Shadin Avionics Announces New CEO

Get Comprehensive, Real-Time, 24/7 coverage of the latest aviation and aerospace stories anytime, at aero-news.net. And be sure to join us again tomorrow, for the next edition of "Airborne Unlimited" here on Aero-TV. Thanks for watching. See you, again, tomorrow!

© 2021, Aero-News Network, Inc., ALL Rights Reserved.

FMI: www.airbornetv.net, www.aero-news.net, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, https://vimeo.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews