SNF Crowds May See P-40 Next Year

ScaleBirds has been hard at work on their variable-frame LiteFighter, to the point they opted to keep working through aviation’s own Spring Break and skip Sun ‘n Fun altogether. As it happens, building a new aircraft design from the ground up is hard, and sometimes things get to the point you just need to buckle down and focus. So that’s exactly what ScaleBirds is doing. In the days leading up to Sun ‘n Fun 2025, Sam Watrous updated fans of the project, describing a busy shop finding their way around their frame. Some LiteFighter kits have been handed off to members of the beta builder program, but Watrous & company aren’t content to keep things as a Version 1 forever. <

Sweepstakes to Support EAA's Core Mission Runs Until October 25th

The EAA Aviation Foundation, Inc is running a sweepstakes to give away a fully restored 1947 Cessna 120 in support of its wide ranging lobbying, safety, and educational efforts. The prize is a fine example of the breed, equipped with a Rolls Royce O-200 good for 100 ponies. The plane has only logged 105 hours since its last major overhaul, with a full restoration done in 1998. That led to a host of mild improvements that don’t detract from the classic Cessna looks and feel, like an improved, quieter exhaust system, circuit breakers on all the primaries, an alternator, and much comfier seats.

Beta Technologies’s CX300 Alia made history by completing what seems to be the first coast-to-coast flight in an electric aircraft. The plane’s journey began on February 7, 2025, in Vermont and landed in Santa Monica 22 days later. The Alia CX300 responsible for the journey was N916LF, which was the first to come off the manufacturer’s new production line in South Burlington, Vermont. It completed its maiden flight on November 13 with Beta founder and CEO Kyle Clark. He took the CX300 up to around 7,000 feet to complete “handling qualities evaluation, stability and control test points and initial airspeed expansion prior to flying several approaches and a normal landing,” Beta stated.

Vantage 12 System Replaces Entegra Flight Deck for SR20 and SR22’s

Avionics manufacturer Avidyne showcased its new retrofit upgrade for legacy Cirrus aircraft to kick off its time at the 2025 SUN ‘n FUN aerospace expo. The flight display system, dubbed Vantage 12, replaces the earlier Entegra flight deck found in upwards of 4,000 SR20s, SR22s, and SR22Ts.

Actor Honored After Long-Endured Health Issues Took His Life

Val Kilmer, a 65-year-old award-winning actor who took the stage as ‘Iceman’ in Top Gun, succumbed to pneumonia on April 1. Kilmer had been fighting health issues since his throat cancer diagnosis in 2014, though he was declared cancer-free in August 2021. The actor began his career in 1984 with the painfully underrated Cold War spy-comedy movie “Top Secret!”. He pushed on with a couple smaller gigs before making his claim to fame playing Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in the original 1986 Top Gun. Kazansky was portrayed as a cocky yet capable aviator, serving as a direct competitor to Tom Cruise’s character, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

Manufacturer Names BravoFox As the US Distributor For Its Two Designs

BravoFox, which was named the official US distributor for Blackshape sales and maintenance late last year, took the stage during the pre-SUN ‘n FUN Innovation Preview on March 31 to showcase their aircraft offerings. The distributor is currently offering one design, the Prime, with the Gabriel soon to join its collection.

Don't Miss Our Comprehensive Annual Coverage Of Aviation's 'Spring Break'

Here it comes! ANN has prepared its most comprehensive coverage EVER of the SUN n FUN Aerospace Expo... and we guarantee you that this is the best there is. We’re already posting stories to the SUN n FUN Digital Daily website at www.snfdd.com, but the real excitement starts on Monday aftewrnoon at 1600ET when the SUN n FUN Innovation Preview starts with announcements of dozens of new products, developments, and other surprises. Log on to www.airborne-

Leasing Company Continues Expansion

BOC Aviation of Singapore announced a major order of narrowbody aircraft as it continues the expansion of its operations. Boeing and Airbus stand to benefit from the order for 70 new Airbus A320neo and 50 new Boeing 737 MAX-8 twinjets.

First Of Four Full Systems Ordered

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., and the Belgian Ministry of Defence announced they had completed a successful first flight of a new MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft, or RPA. The SkyGuardian will be the first delivered to Belgium under a four-aircraft purchase.

Technical Excellence From First-Time Technical Paper Presenters

The Vertical Flight Society announced the winners of its Robert L. Lichten technical award. The overall winner will be recognized during the 81st Annual Forum and Technology Display in Virginia Beach, Virginia, as part of the Opening General Session on May 20, 2025.

Also: Ford Tri-Motor, Helmet PURSUIT, AK UL Fuel Concerns, Malaysia MAX Buy

Two Alpha Jets with the Patrouille de France collided during a training exercise on Tuesday March 25, 2025, near Air Base 113 in Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne) and both aircraft were destroyed. Video posted on social media showed the six aircraft completing what looked like a loop maneuver when two of the jets trailing the formation hit each other. Ohio has officially designated the 1905 Wright Flyer III as the state’s official airplane, further reinforcing Dayton’s role in aviation history. The bill was passed on March 19 in the Ohio House of Representatives with strong

Airplane’s Fuel Pressure Gauge Began To Fluctuate. Subsequently, The Airplane Experienced A Total Loss Of Engine Power

Analysis: The pilot reported that, shortly after takeoff while on a post-maintenance check flight, the airplane’s fuel pressure gauge began to fluctuate. Subsequently, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot performed a forced landing that resulted in substantial damage to the right wing and right elevator, which were both liberated from the airplane during impact.

From 2016 (YouTube Edition): The RANS S-21 Kit-Built Airplane Encompasses a Unique Building Concept…

While ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell, was stomping around EAA AirVenture 2016 on his “What’s New” rounds, he stopped to talk with Randy Schlitter, the founder and owner of RANS Designs, which is the company that produces the RANS line of kit-built airplanes. While RANS has been around for a long time, they still managed to come up with something new in the RANS S-21. For those of you who are familiar with the RANS airplanes this truly is “Breaking News.” RANS has been noted for building tube-and-rag a

Aero Linx: Chicago Executive Pilots' Association (CEPA) Chicago Executive Pilots' Association holds ten FAA Safety meetings each year. Pilots are engaged in an activity that brings joy to our lives. Pilots fly us to place to visit friends and family, get us to important business meetings, take us to see the many wonders of the world, big and small, or maybe just the $200 veggie burger. Flying also has the potential for deadly consequences when not done well.

Pilot's Discretion When used in conjunction with altitude assignments, means that ATC has offered the pilot the option of starting climb or descent whenever he/she wishes and conducting the climb or descent at any rate he/she wishes. He/she may temporarily level off at any intermediate altitude. However, once he/she has vacated an altitude, he/she may not return to that altitude. 

“We have a lot riding on this load test. So much so, we decided to forgo attending Sun ‘n Fun 2025.  Too much of a distraction from the effort required right now.  Our top priority is making progress on getting to production and delivering.   Sun ‘n Fun has always been a fun show to attend - gets us out of the late winter weather up here in CT.  But, it is a good week of effort before, the week during and another week after the show.  That’s a minimum of a three week investment of time, effort and energy.  [We] Love SNF, but just can’t this year.  I am hoping  we will attend in 2026.  With a P-40E and the P-36 on hand.” Source: Scalebird's Sam Watrous, ex