After a flight that was supposed to last days turned into one that lasted months, Butch Wilmore has retired -- following a total of 25 years at NASA, flying in four different spacecraft, and accumulating 464 days in space. During his time at NASA, Wilmore completed three missions launching aboard the space shuttle Atlantis, Roscosmos Soyuz, and Boeing Starliner to the International Space Station. The U-2 Dragon Lady was on display all week at AirVenture. It was a homecoming of sorts for the aircraft but even more so for its pilot. Lt. Col. GOGO, is a veteran U-2 pilot and inspector general of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing. He flew the aircraft
Tammy Duckworth Troubled by Numerous Recent Runway Fires and Emergency Evacs
US Senator Tammy Duckworth is looking to the FAA for answers to more detailed questions regarding multiple recent emergency evacuations of commercial planes. She claims that analyzing the incidents would show the agency just how unrealistic its evacuation standards are in real-world situations.
No Navy Successor After Harrier Retirement in 2030
Spain has suspended talks with the U.S. for acquiring the Lockheed Martin F-35 to instead support European defense programs. The Spanish Navy now has no successor to replace its aging EAV-8B Harrier II fleet and interferes with the Air & Space Force plans for fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Milestone On Way To Flight Testing And Certification
Joby Aviation announced it is prepping its first conforming aircraft for final assembly on the way to Type Inspection Authorization, or TIA flight tests. The company anticipates the first of several aircraft to be used in flight testing will be flying in 2025, followed by FAA pilots to evaluate the aircraft’s performance and safety.
Airline Says it Won't Use Customer Data to Price Tickets, Plans Say Otherwise
Delta Airlines is on the defensive after several US lawmakers raised alarm bells over the possibility of AI-generated airfare tailored to each passenger’s “pain point.” In a recent letter, the airline assured senators that it does not, has not, and will not use artificial intelligence to set individualized ticket prices based on personal data… though no one is sure who to believe.
The U-2 Dragon Lady, a symbol of American reconnaissance and air power, was on display all week at the recent EAA AirVenture airshow and fly-in at Wittman Regional Airport (OSH) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was a homecoming of sorts for the aircraft but even more so for its pilot.
Featuring Three Interactive Programs Led By Experts
The National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) will be held this year October 14-16 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Nevada, and the highlight will be three interactive programs that shine the spotlight on new safety technologies, new regulations, and new perspectives on how to think about the safety of flight.
$9.7M Contract To Mature the VH-4T And Test First Prototype
VerdeGo Aero announced it received a U.S. Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract for $9.7 million to bring its VH-4T hybrid-electric powerplant to a production configuration and to build and test the first prototype VH-4T-415.
Also: Pratt & Whitney 747SP, Gratia Aero, Robinson/MagniX, Jack Pelton Part5
The Avidyne Vantage 12 is finally certified and will shortly be shipping out so that aging Cirrus airframes can get updated with big 12 inch screens, stunning synthetic vision and a list of capabilities that can’t but help to impress. Avidyne’s Dan Schwinn gives us an update. Want to travel with your plane and have all the aero-comforts of a pilot home, to boot, Fly-Inn has a rental program that matches traveling pilots with rental homes on or near airports, often with hangars and other attractions…. Kind of an AeroBnB kind of thing…. And we
Also: Centauri Aircraft Valkyrie, Meet the Admin, Night Airshow, Pelton Intv'w
When we laid eyes on this critter, we fell in love… and then we learned the amazing story of this “Oshkosh Surprise” and were even more impressed… Less than $70K – fly away, 2 GPH, 100 mph or so, single seat, folding wings, and a classic look that catches eyeballs like honey catches flies. Jim says this is the coolest bird he’s seen at Oshkosh this year. The H55 program has been barnstorming the country for several months with an upgraded Bristell airframe, proving the technology, the installation, and the procedures necessary to le
Also: Airbus Acubed Wayfinder FlightLab, Lightspeed Zulu 4, Pelton On Issues Plaguing GA
For the better part of a decade and certainly before the last several years in particular, the aviation world has breathlessly awaited the final rule for what we all know as MOSAIC… and now, the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, has left the Washington puzzle palaces to deliver it. The dream of flight can be had by anyone… and Able Flight has the noble responsibility of training those who might think that flight might be denied… by showing them how truly capable they are. This is one of aviation’s greatest endeavors. Sun n Fun 26 wil
Nearly three-quarters of a century in the making, EAA is excited about the future… especially with the potential of a MOSAIC announcement within days or even sooner… At the same time, EAA has the responsibility to cater to much more of aviation, even beyond MOSAIC, and Pelton is ready to address that. Based on the lovely work done by Sandel years before, the Nighthawk program has been born, offering extraordinary Synthetic Vision displays and a modular architecture that allows for growth and improvements as the operator finds the need. The result is impressive… and surprisingly
Also: Wing Delivers, Stralis/Aviate Enterprises, EAA’s Youth Programs, EAA’s Impressive Museum And Aircraft Collection
VoltAero’s HPU 210 hybrid propulsion unit is being offered to homebuilt, kit-built, and light airplanes; and we get an update on the company’s Cassio 330 electric-hybrid regional aircraft. Oshkosh is one of the greatest gatherings for flyers the world over... but now and then it is also a pivotal opportunity to remember those we’ve lost and who have so greatly affected our lives. One poignant moment occurred as Bud Anderson was fondly remembered at the Memorial Garden. Amongst all the serious discus
From 2013 (YouTube Edition): OK... Admit It -- Wouldn't You Have Loved To Fly In This Adventure?
In this video ANN CEO and Editor-In-Chief, Jim Campbell brings us an adventure story. While at the NBAA 2013 convention Jim had the chance to talk with Mike Laver, the President of Air First Aviation Companies. But this interview was not about Laver’s company, it was about his flight around the world and in an MU-2. A lot of pilots would love the opportunity to fly around the world just to do it. Well, Mike Laver felt the same way and he did it. Laver describes his trip in detail and accompanies his description with som
As The Nose Of The Airplane Came Down, The Propeller Struck The Runway; The Airplane Slid For Several Feet
On July 20, 2025, about 1545 central daylight time, a Questair Venture airplane, N53TL, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to the pilot, he extended his landing gear over Fisk during the approach to the airport. The pilot confirmed that he had three green lights illuminated on his instrument panel and he continued the approach.
Aero Linx: The Formation and Safety Team (FAST)
The Formation and Safety Team (FAST) is a worldwide, educational organization dedicated to teaching safe formation flying in Warbirds which are former military aircraft. FAST is comprised of seventeen signatory organizations whose mission is to support education in the safe and responsible restoration, maintenance and operation of their members' aircraft.
Ground Clutter
A pattern produced on the radar scope by ground returns which may degrade other radar returns in the affected area. The effect of ground clutter is minimized by the use of moving target indicator (MTI) circuits in the radar equipment resulting in a radar presentation which displays only targets which are in motion.
“While FAA has yet to disclose how long any of the referenced passenger evacuations took, these incidents once again raise serious questions about FAA’s 90 second evacuation standard as well as FAA’s assumptions about how evacuations occur in real world conditions (such as the assumption every passenger will comply with instructions to deplane without carry-on bags).”
Source: Excerpted from a letter by US Senator Tammy Duckworth, who is looking to the FAA for answers to more detailed questions regarding multiple recent emergency evacuations of commercial planes. She claims that analyzing the incidents would show the agency just how unrealistic its evacuation standards are in real-world situations.
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