Station Crew Expands To 10 For Next Two Weeks

NASA astronaut Chris Williams, along with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, arrived safely at the International Space Station on Thursday November 27. During the next two weeks the station’s complement will expand to 10 crew members.

Operational Criteria Favored Lightning II By Wide Margin

Canada’s Future Fighter Capability Project conducted an evaluation in 2021 of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II versus the Saab Gripen E, and it wasn’t close: overall, the F-35 scored 57.1 out of 60 (95%) and the Gripen E achieved 19.8 points (33%). Both aircraft met Canada’s mandatory requirements but diverged significantly when scores for operational criteria were included.

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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

Largest Foreign Order In Program’s History Nets Boeing $4.7B Contract

The Polish Armed Forces finalized a deal with Boeing for 96 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in a contract worth $4.7 billion. The order is the largest in the program’s history by a foreign nation and was accomplished under the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales process.

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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

Deal Includes 18 Aircraft Plus Advanced Ground Training Tools

The Federal Government of Belgium approved the purchase of 18 Pilatus PC-7 MKX aircraft along with a comprehensive 20-year service contract to provide training services based on the PC-7 MKX that includes an integrated ground-based training system. Pilatus will begin deliveries of the PC-7 MKX in 2027 to replace Belgium’s existing training aircraft.

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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 an

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Textron Aviation has confirmed it will be ending production of the Beechcraft Bonanza G36 and Baron G58, after nearly 80 years of continuous manufacturing. The company is moving toward  new products such as the Beechcraft Denali, but promises to support the thousands of Barons and Bonanzas currently flying worldwide. The announcement brings to an end one of the longest production runs in the history of aviation. The first flight of the Bonanza was in December 1945 and production began in 1947. Archer Aviation’s plan to turn Hawthorne Airport into the heart of its Los Angeles air-taxi network earned it a big “WELCOME” from the mayor… and exactly the opposite from local NIMBYs. Members of the community started the predictable “Hawthorne Quiet Skies” group to express both confusion and disappointment with the

Full-Scale Cavorite X7 is Under Construction With an Ambitious Test Campaign Ahead

Horizon Aircraft has confirmed plans to certify its hybrid-electric Cavorite X7 for both Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) and Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI)... two capabilities that remain well outside the scope of today’s eVTOL operations. The full-scale prototype is now under construction.

Pre-Seed Funding For Long-Endurance, Real-Time, High-Res Earth Intel

Arctus Aerospace announced it raised $2.6 million from Version One Ventures, South Park Commons, gradCapital, and several angel investors in a pre-seed round to accelerate the development of its large, unmanned aircraft intended to fly at 45,000 feet for up to 24 hours.