T'was A Landmark Event For The Sport and General Aviation Community

The Friday Night Town Hall at the inaugural Affordable Flying Expo (AFE25) in Lakeland, Florida, this past November was a landmark event for the general aviation community, primarily due to its open forum structure and the robust, unscripted exchange of information regarding the new FAA MOSAIC rule. Held on the SUN 'n FUN campus, the meeting provided a direct line of communication between industry leaders and enthusiasts, showcasing the inherent benefits of transparent, interactive dialogue in a time of significant regulatory change.

Software Issues Affecting 6,000 A320-Family Jets Unexpectedly Came to Light

Airbus shares fell sharply this week after a one-two punch of technical problems involving its best-selling A320 family went public. The stock dropped nearly 11% at one point, its steepest single-day slide in years, following reports that exposed both a large-scale software vulnerability and a newly discovered structural quality issue affecting recently built jets.

Two-Time World Aerobatic Champion Passed on November 23

Betty Stewart, a pioneer in competitive aerobatics and a cornerstone of the International Aerobatic Club for nearly five decades, passed away at the age of 78 on November 23. Tributes quickly poured in from pilots who credit her with shaping both their flying and the sport itself.

Rep. Newhouse Argues the Wind Project Would Disrupt Operations at Tri-Cities Airport

Representative Dan Newhouse of Washington’s 4th District has written to the Federal Aviation Administration asking it to take a closer look at a massive wind farm project set for construction near a commercial airport, which the agency previously determined to pose “No Hazard to Air Navigation.”

Pilot Encountered Debris While Landing on Main Street

Santa’s traditional helicopter arrival at Cedar City’s annual Downtown Christmas Lighting Ceremony didn’t exactly go according to plan during the November 29 event, when airborne construction debris forced the pilot to divert moments before touching down. Instead, a police escort rushed Santa in, and the event continued as scheduled.

An As-Yet-Unidentified (Officially) Solo Pilot Survives Ejection with Moderate Injuries

A Thunderbird pilot, ID'ed alternately as Thunderbird 5 or Thunderbird 6, but not yet confirmed officially) ejected form his/her Lockheed Martin F-16CM-52-CF Fighting Falcon Wednesday (12-03-25) during a training mission in California. The accident occurred near Trona Airport on an unoccupied dry lake bed area south of the airport in San Bernardino County. The pilot ejected safely just before the airframe impacted the ground. 

Also: USAF Reaper Accident, Baikonur Damage, Horizon eVTOL IFR/FIKI, New Glenn Update

Honda has outlined its clearest timeline yet for its entry into the world of electric vertical-lift, confirming that its first full-scale eVTOL prototype will be finished by the end of 2025. The inaugural flight is slated for March 2026, marking the company’s transition from years of under-the-radar development to a much more public testing phase. 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. Arctus said the funding will be deployed to establish one of the deepest full-stack unmanned aircraft manufacturing and engineering capabilities that will be built entirely in-house. Sam Bousfield, CEO of Samson Sky, has been granted his eigh

Also: ‘Fat Albert’ Heads To UK, Samson Patent, Western Global Pilot Furloughs, 1700th Ipanema

An inflight incident that took place on a JetBlue flight from Cancun, MX, to Newark, NJ, on October 30 has resulted in serious cautions for the 11,300 aircraft in the Airbus A320 series. The scheduled flight, Flight 1230, required an emergency landing at Tampa, FL, with several people requiring hospitalization after a flight control issue and a sudden uncommanded pitch change. Cleveland officials are again attempting to close a beloved community airport, this time by exploiting a federal loophole. Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne have asked Congress to help them bypass years of FAA red tape (that they agreed to in order to get OUR tax dollars) and waive more than $9 million in federal grant obligations that legally bind the city to operate the airport until 2036. The successful launch of three crew members to

Also: SpaceX Starship Carries on, Hartzell Adds Lamar, Mar-a-Lago TFR Ooopppss, CAF Lobo Wing

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association issued the Third Quarter 2025 General Aviation Aircraft Shipping and Billing Report, covering results worldwide, and the result for the first nine months of 2025, when compared to the same period last year, show increased shipments in the business jet sector as well as an increase in the overall value of aircraft shipments. Airbus released an update on the deployment of precautionary fleet measures on its approximately 6,000 A320 family of aircraft. The actions were required after several aircraft experienced an unexpected loss of altitude and Airbus issued an Alert Operators Transmission (AOT). Upon inspection, Airbus engineers traced the anomalies to corrupted altitude data believed to be caused by intense solar radiation that affected software vulnerabilities feeding the altitude data to aircraft sys

Also: Elfin 20 Journey, BASE Jumper Rescue, Pipistrel Makes Waves, EAA Hall of Fame, Affordable Flying Expo 2026

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