Fri, Dec 05, 2025
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 eighth desi
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
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 systems. N
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
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 the In
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
Also: Trailblazing Aviator Betty Stewart, Wind Farm Scrutiny, Chatham Ban Overturned, Airbus Shares Dive
A Thunderbird pilot, ID'ed alternately as Thunderbird 5 or Thunderbird 6, (but not yet confirmed officially) ejected from 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. Air India somehow misplaced a 43-year-old Boeing 737-200 and forgot about it for over a decade. The Kolkata airport didn’t forget about the airplane though, and continued to add parking fees. The airline was oblivious until recently, when it received a parking bill that, over a 13-year period, accumulated to a total of 10 million Indian Rupees, about USD$120,000. Dynon has released SkyView HDX software version 17.4,
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
Also: IAE Acquires Diamond Trainers, Army Drones, FedEx Pilots Warning, DA62 MPP To Dresden Tech Uni
The danger to the flight training industry and our future pilots is clear. Donald Frano, a member of the Central Florida Pilots Association, posted a statement as an urgent warning about the increasing number of airports using or considering using a third-party vendor to send landing fees to pilots based on ADS-B data. This began in Florida and is a growing threat that the aviation community needs to stand up to and strongly oppose. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), Chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation, has thrown his full support behind the bipartisan Mental Health in Aviation Act (MHAA) by joining as a co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation. The bill intends to destigmatize mental health issues in aviation, train aviation medical examiners, and make it overall easier for aviation professionals to seek and receive mental health treatment without fearing the loss of their careers. The Federal Go
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
17,000 SF System Integration Facility Completed In Huntsville
Lockheed Martin announced the opening of a new 17,000-square-foot Hypersonics System Integration Lab at its Huntsville campus in Alabama. The $17.1 million capital investment was completed in just over a year and reinforces the company’s commitment to delivering rapid and reliable solutions to defense partners and maintaining U.S. strategic superiority in hypersonic technology.
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
Electra Defense Will Focus On EL9 Ultra-STOL Aircraft For Remote Access
Electra announced the launch of a new business unit focusing on the needs of military defense missions, “Electra Defense,” that will develop the EL9 ultra-STOL, dual-use, nine-passenger, hybrid-electric aircraft for the U.S. military.
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
Developing The Next Generation of Aviation Professionals
Daher Aircraft and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association joined together in renewing their unique international internship program for a third consecutive year. The initiative provides four students, two from North America and two from Europe, the opportunity to gain industry experience and exposure direct interactions through the eight-week exchange.
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
A Tornado Took Out the Manufacturer’s Main Production Facility in May
Just two months after an EF-4 tornado tore through its facilities, Kolb Aircraft was back on its feet and ready for new customers at EAA Oshkosh AirVenture. The company set up shop a few miles down the road with a renewed focus on its best-selling ultralight. The 170mph tornado tore through the London-Corbin Airport in Kentucky on May 20, 2025. The good news was that all of Kolb’s employees walked away unharmed. The bad news was that its hangar, along with several completed airframes, trailers, and shelves of components, did not. Kolb’s team salvaged everything they could and moved operations a few miles down the road to one of the co-owners’ properties. Setting up a new permanent home is a work in progress, but in the meantime, Kolb Aircraft has managed to get all three of its designs back in active production.
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Fri, Dec 05, 2025
The Pilot Attempted Several Times To Restart The Engine And Diverted To Long Beach Airport/Daughtery Field
On October 20, 2025, about 1603 Pacific daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Rutan Long-EZ, N8183K, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Long Beach, California. The pilot was seriously injured, and a pedestrian on the ground was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the pilot, he had flown the airplane from the Compton/Woodley Airport (CPM), Compton, California, to French Valley Airport (F70), Murrieta/Temecula, California, as part of a flight of two airplanes.
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