Also: Abu Dhabi’s 1st Vertiport Network, Anduril-EDGE Partner, Vertical Permit/eVTOL Regs

Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser spaceplane has cleared another round of pre-flight milestones at Kennedy Space Center. The company has been running the spacecraft through a long list of test campaigns ahead of its debut under NASA’s CRS-2 cargo contract. The Dream Chaser’s most recent accomplishments include electromagnetic interference and compatibility testing inside the Space Systems Processing Facility, demonstrating that its avionics and subsystems behave properly in the kinds of charged environments it will encounter from launch to landing. Joby Aviation announced the first flight of its recently developed turbine-electric, autonomous VTOL aircraft. This comes just three months after the aircraft concept was announced in conjunction with L3Harris Technologies, who brings technologies and expertise to address defense applications for t

Carrier Becomes New Customer, Reinforces Confidence In Dubai Growth Plan

Airbus announced at the Dubai Airshow 2025 that flydubai signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airbus for the purchase of 150 A321neo airliners, making the carrier a new Airbus customer. The deal underlines flydubai’s confidence in Dubai’s growth plans.

Also: Flight Reductions End, E-7A Wedgetail Regrets, Air Senegal 737 MAX, China's Astro Dilemma

The work of Elfin.aero founder Dr. Reiner Stemme, who passed on October 31, 2025, is already being reignited to honor the designer’s years of dedication to the still-unfinished elfin20: a high-performance, two-seat, self-launching electric glider. Development of the prototype is well underway. Gulfstream Aerospace announced that its newly certified ultralong-range G800 achieved its eight city-pair speed record on its flight from Phuket, Thailand to the Dubai Airshow 2025 in the United Arab Emirates. The feat was accomplished in 5 hours 38 minutes. This latest record brings the city-pair speed record total for the Gulfstream fleet to over 760... SpaceX checked off another benchmark this week by completing the 500th orbital launch mission using a reusable rocket booster. Falcon 9 lifted off at 12:21 am on November 17, sending Europe’s Sentinel-

From 2010 (YouTube Edition): The Red Tail Project Continues Effort Towards ‘Rise Above Program’

The Red Tail Project is a true example of this unbreakable spirit. In 2004, the project experienced a tragic setback when leader Don Hinz lost his life after the organizations P-51C Mustang suffered a catastrophic engine failure. The Red Tail Project quickly set forth an ambitious mission to restore the airplane and continue Don Hinz’s remarkable vision, to inspire youth and tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen across the country. The Red Tails, nicknamed for the red-painted tails that Tuskegee Airmen used to identify themselves, deployed to Europe, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. Forced to operate as segregated units, the 992 pilots were neither allowed to train, nor fight beside their white counterparts.

Smoke Began Entering The Cockpit During The Landing Flare, And Then The Pilot Noticed Flames...

Analysis: The pilot reported that about 30 minutes into the local flight, he heard some crackling in the radio reception and then the cockpit flight displays went blank. The engine stumbled and lost power completely. The pilot was operating the airplane in the airport traffic pattern at that time and decided to secure the engine to set up for a forced landing to the runway. Smoke began entering the cockpit during the landing flare, and then the pilot noticed flames on the right side of the airplane.

Aero Linx: Vintage Sailplane Association The purpose of the Vintage Sailplane Association (VSA) is to promote the acquisition, restoration and flying of vintage sailplanes by its members, and to assist the National Soaring Museum in the preservation of soaring history and the promotion of vintage sailplane activity. A Vintage Sailplane is any glider of a type first flown prior to 1958, or a more recently built glider with appearance, performance and construction characteristics similar to gliders built before 1958. 

Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network

Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you can turn on “post notifications” that will send you an update when new stories are posted on the Aero-News Network Facebook or Instagram pages.

Takeoff Hold Lights (THL)  The THL system is composed of in-pavement lighting in a double, longitudinal row of lights aligned either side of the runway centerline. The lights are focused toward the arrival end of the runway at the “line up and wait” point, and they extend for 1,500 feet in front of the holding aircraft. Illuminated red lights indicate to an aircraft in position for takeoff or rolling that it is unsafe to takeoff because the runway is occupied or about to be occupied by an aircraft or vehicle.

“Based on unique team requirements to fill the role of Thunderbird 1, the Commander/Leader of the Thunderbirds, ACC leadership made a personnel change. The team remains postured for a safe and effective 2026 show season.”

Source: The very basic, not-so-detailed explanation provided by the Thunderbirds as they announced 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.

30 Years? How Fast The Time Flies... 

An interesting moment came about this past Sunday as ANN CEO, Jim Campbell, noted that the Aero-News Network came into being exactly 30 years ago (original logo shown). ANN was the first actual aviation Daily 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 well over 10,000 programs... some tremendously important LIVE programming done in support of a number of our media partners such as the SUN n FUN Aerospace Expo, AEA, AUVSI, and many others.