LandSpace ZhuQue-3 Reached Orbit, But First Stage Exploded During Landing

The maiden flight of LandSpace’s ZhuQue-3 rocket on December 3 was one for the books… for both its successes and failures. The rocket reached orbit before the first stage booster recovery attempt resulted in an explosion near the edge of the landing pad.

Following Up On The Initiatives Established With The Affordable Flying Expo, MOSAIC Day Promotes A Posiive Future For All Of Aviation

Attendees and exhibitors of the Affordable Flying Expo were the first to hear about a powerful new initiative for the 52nd annual SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo, April 14-19, 2026. Produced by the Aero-News Network and SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo—on top of our pre-show SNF Innovation Preview, the all-week-long SUN ’n FUN Digital Daily, Morning Brief, Airborne video news programming, and Saturday Flight Live coverage of the day and night airshows (plus dozens of stories and video segments each day)—we’re adding something big. REALLY BIG. 

Composite Engineering And High-Efficiency Aerodynamics Redefine Performance

Taking up a pivotal slot at the 2025 Affordable Flying Expo, Porto Aviation Group is an aerospace innovator and manufacturer based in Cremella, Lecco, Italy, that specializes in dynamic, high-performance aircraft made of advanced lightweight carbon-fiber composites. The company’s primary models are the ultralight Risen 912iS and the Risen SV 916 Super Veloce -- and their appearance invokes stares at every turn. Alberto Porto first conceived his Risen aircraft in 1995 but knew it would take years to bring it to fruition, and in fact it was put on hold while he focused on his high-level fluid dynamics and engineering company. He and his partners used the knowledge and experience gained from that period to begin building the first Risen prototype in 2010, and the airplane took its maiden flight in 2012.

Latest Model Is The Twin-Engine Ultralight MultiCruiser

Hummel Aircraft has been building its all-metal light sport and ultralight aircraft since the early 1980s when James Morris “Morry” Hummel built and for his first aircraft, what became known as the Hummelbird. After a long career in aviation manufacturing and engineering, Morry’s innovations and the company’s technical advancements have provided kit-built aircraft for homebuilders and enthusiasts for over four decades. Hummel’s passion for flight and love of hands-on craftsmanship led to the first Hummelbird, with its compact, efficient, and rugged singleseat design that have carried through to the company’s other models. Morry’s designs emphasized simplicity, affordability, and performance, features that still define the Hummel brand today.

Samaritan’s Purse Caravan Was Able to Land and Meet National Security

A Samaritan’s Purse humanitarian flight was hijacked on Tuesday, December 2, while attempting to supply a mobile medical unit in South Sudan. Authorities were able to meet the aircraft on the ground and take the suspect into custody without further incident.

Russian Cosmonaut Allegedly Took and Distributed Photos of Sensitive Technology

A Russian Cosmonaut has been abruptly removed from SpaceX’s upcoming Crew-12 mission after reportedly violating US national security regulations during pre-flight training. Oleg Artemyev, a veteran Roscosmos astronaut with more than 560 cumulative days in orbit, has now been replaced by fellow cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev.

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,

Commander Sergey Ryzhikov Will Hand Over A Symbolic Key NASA astronaut Mike Fincke In Change of Command

Big changes coming for the crews aboard the ISS as Expedition 73 swapped commanders this weekend before three crew members return to Earth on Monday. Expedition 74 officially begins once the home bound trio undocks from the Rassvet module inside the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft the following day. Veteran Roscosmos cosmonaut and station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov will hand over a symbolic key representing command of the orbital outpost to four-time space flyer NASA astronaut Mike Fincke at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Sunday, Dec. 7. Fincke will formally take responsibility of station operations  and lead the new Expedition 74 crew at the moment Ryzhikov and Flight Engineers Alexey Zubritsky of Roscosmos and Jonny Kim of NASA back away from the orbital outpost inside their Soyuz at 8:41 p.m. on Monday.

Pilots Have Vote Overwhelmingly to Authorize Strike

Air Transat pilots have voted overwhelmingly to strike if continuing negotiations with Air Transat management fail to produce 'a modern contract.' Of the 98 percent of eligible pilots who could vote, 99 percent voted in favour of a strike, if necessary. This result provides the Air Transat Master Executive Council (MEC) with the authority to declare a strike when legally permitted, which could be as early as the morning of December 10. “This vote sends an undeniable message to Air Transat management: We are unified, resolute, and have earned a contract that reflects today’s industry standards, not the standards from 2015,” said Capt. Bradley Small, Air Transat MEC chair. “The 98 percent participation rate alone demonstrates the depth of frustration among our members, who are tired of flying under a decade-old and outdated collective agreement.”

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