Year Full Of Unforgettable Moments Including 86-Year-Old’s 1,000th Jump

The U.S. Parachute Association is celebrating an eventful year in the sport by noting the biggest stories and achievements from the year. Highlights include an 86-year-old skydiver achieving 1,000 jumps and earning her USPA Gold Wings, new world records set, and skydivers completing 26,718 jumps on World Skydiving Day.

B23 Variant With the Rotax 916iS Earns Certification in the CS-23 Category

BRM AERO has secured another EASA certification for its Bristell B23 design. What makes this one special is what’s under the cowling: a 160-horsepower turbocharged Rotax 916iS, marking the highest-power engine option yet for the B23 lineup.

Stinson 108 Was Confiscated by the Red Lake Nation After an Emergency Landing

The effort to reunite a plane with its pilot has continued to rise through the ranks, reaching federal levels in a recent letter to the US Department of Transportation and the Department of the Interior. The agencies are being asked to step in after the beloved Stinson 108 was emergency-landed and held captive on the tribal land in northern Minnesota.

Executive Order Makes Firm Commitments to Moon, Mars, Defense, and More

The White House has set the US up for a much-needed space policy reset, signing an executive order that puts civil exploration, national security, and commercial development much higher on the priority list. ‘Ensuring American Space Superiority’ formally commits the nation to returning astronauts to the Moon by 2028, beginning construction of a permanent lunar outpost by 2030, and laying technical groundwork for eventual human missions to Mars.

Global 8000 Earns FAA Type Certification In the Wake Of Canadian Approval

Bombardier’s Global 8000 has received type certification from US aviation regulators, opening a key market for what the manufacturer claims to be the fastest civilian aircraft since the Concorde. The approval follows Transport Canada type certification granted on November 5, with the aircraft entering service in December. Certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency remains pending.

Also: Army Helos Rescue 18, Stadiums v Drones, Hartzell's New Sky-Tec, R66 Mil Fleet Logs Time

The owners of Solberg-Hunterdon Airport (N51) have taken their dispute with local officials to court, arguing that a newly adopted zoning procedure by Readington Township is designed to quietly “suffocate” airport operations -- not just regulate them. The lawsuit claims the measure would prevent modernization and eventually make the family-run field economically unsustainable. Tecnam has introduced the P2008JC NG: a much-anticipated update to its two-seat training aircraft, now certified under EASA CS-23 standards. The variant replaces the earlier certification basis with CS-23 Amendment 6, applying current airworthiness requirements to a long-standing design. Spirit Airlines has managed to scrape in an immediate $50 million boost through its debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing arrangement, providing short-term liquidity as it continues anoth

Air Taxi Manufacturer Plans to Churn Out Four Aircraft Per Month With Certification Underway

Joby Aviation is laying out plans to double its US manufacturing capacity, targeting a new production rate of four electric air taxis per month in 2027. The boost is being aided by growing operations at Joby’s California and Ohio facilities, where the company already hosts flight testing, final assembly, and component manufacturing.

Also: Bombardier’s Mach 0.95 Jet, Bristell Upgrade, Leonardo M-346, Happy Holiday!

The effort to reunite a plane with its pilot has continued to rise through the ranks, reaching federal levels in a recent letter to the DoT and the Department of the Interior. The agencies are being asked to step in after a Stinson 108 was emergency-landed and held captive on the tribal land in northern Minnesota. The request centers on a 1946 Stinson 108 owned by Darrin Smedsmo which was flying over the Red Lake Indian Reservation toward Bemidji for training when his engine suffered a catastrophic failure, forcing a landing on Minnesota Highway 1. An early-morning aircraft theft at Van Nuys Airport (VNY) ended quickly, and surprisingly without leaving the ground, when a stolen LA Flight Academy Cessna 172 crashed into the side of a hangar. Authorities say the training aircraft struck the building while taxiing. Jared “Rook” Isaacman was sworn in on

Also: The Aircraft That Delivered, Breakthroughs and Breakdowns Report, Aero-Standouts, Aero-Stumbles 

Welcome to a special episode of Airborne Unlimited... with a look back at 2025 and what it all might mean for 2026. Call it The Aero-News Aviation Reality Check — 2025 Edition, bit make no mistake... in one form or another, these are the stories, companies, planes and products that distinguished aviation this year. While there was a;lot to cover and much that we really didn't have th s[pace for, we wanted to offer some kudos to planes, products, powerplants and programs that deserved serious kudos... as well as those who most definitely did NOT. With MOSAIC finally out of the bag, partially, the industry stands at the forefront of great possibilities so long as it is ready to take advantage of the opportunities ahead of us and NOT blow it as it has with so many other promising developments. Still there are hazards ahead and in an upcomi

Also: MGen. Jeannie Leavitt, NTSB Blasts Congress, Austro 5M Hours, Firehawk Helo Pilot Training

The FAA has released an updated set of advisory circulars to support the transition to the long-awaited MOSAIC rule, offering new direction for pilots, instructors, and light-sport repairmen. The documents, published November 14, aim to align long-standing guidance with the performance-based system that will replace the outdated light-sport framework when MOSAIC takes effect in 2026. Minnesota CFI Gabriel Kesler has won Sporty’s $2,500 Pilot Training+ Scholarship, which he will use to obtain his multiengine and multiengine instructor ratings. Kesler is a newly certificated flight instructor who teaches in a variety of training environments, including EAA’s Sport Pilot Academy in Oshkosh, where he instructs in RV–12s and contributes to the Pilot Proficiency Center during AirVenture. Frasca International, a provider of flight simulation