Check out https://affordableflying.net/attend/ Right Away and Get YOUR Tickets To the Affordable Flying Expo!

OK.... with a little over a month to go, it’s time to get serious! Thanks to the folks at Sun n Fun, we have a highly professional online ticketing apparatus at our disposal for next month’s Affordable Flying Expo. And we have other good news... use the code “AFE2025” and you can get $5 OFF the adult ticket price of $15 or even more for a three day pass. After an insane amount of work on the part of the ANN crew and more than a little hand holding by the event experts at Sun n Fun, the Expo is shaping up. We have an amazing series of seminars and forums in the works as well as a LIVE Friday Night Town Hall in which we will be dissecting MOSAIC in as great a detail as we can muster. 

Unions Argue that Even a Short Retirement Age Increase Could Compromise Safety

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the UN’s aviation body, has rejected the airline industry’s push to raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots from 65 to 67. The proposal was backed primarily by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which argued that even a two-year rise to the cap could have a dramatic effect on the pilot shortage.

US Military Demo Teams Will Not Fly at the Upcoming Pacific Airshow

Side effects of the recent US government shutdown have made their way into the airshow side of things, with Pacific Airshow organizers confirming that some of its most iconic acts are no longer on the itinerary. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds and Royal Air Force Falcons will instead headline the event, standing in for the traditional USAF Thunderbirds performance.

Message Follows Government Shutdown

Following the shutdown of the government at midnight on October1, the FAA posted an ‘Emergency’ notice on its website, but it’s somewhat easy to miss and it doesn’t say much anyway: “Portions of the Department of Transportation are currently in shutdown/furlough status due to a lapse in appropriations.”

Also: Lufthansa Chops 4000, FlyNow eCopter, Pilatus PC-12 PRO, USMC Buys 99 CH-53Ks

Otto Aerospace announced that Flexjet will be its first fleet customer and its launch customer for the Phantom 3500 business jet, a windowless, ultra-efficient clean sheet aircraft that takes advantage of laminar-flow aerodynamics and all-carbon fiber composite that together cut fuel burn by 60 percent or more. The agreement is for a firm 300 aircraft with additional options, and with a value of $5.9 billion, is reportedly one of the largest aircraft orders with an OEM in business aviation history. Almost a year after DJI filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Defense over its designation as a ‘Chinese Military Company’, the courts have reached a decision… and the drone maker won’t be happy with it. Judges, unsurprisingly, determined that there was not enough evidence separating DJI from the Chinese Communist Party to overrule t

FAA Completes Phase One of NOTAM Service Far Ahead of Schedule

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched phase one of its new Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) system, putting aviation on track for a complete transition from the old tech in late Spring of 2026. This change has long been requested by the pilot community, especially following multiple large-scale failures.

MOSAIC-Centric Event Set For November 6-8, 2025... DON'T Miss It!

After a master strategy meeting this last week on the grounds of the Sun n Fun Aerospace Expo campus, details have been completed for the first MOSAIC-dedicated, MOSAIC-centric Affordable Flying Expo (AFE25). With the rule officially announced, AFE25 stands to be the best opportunity for MOSAIC-interested folks to get their questions answered and for the industry to show the aviation community that they are ready to serve this expanding niche. 

Manufacturer Begins Development of a New Single-Aisle Jet

After nearly a decade of trying and failing to gain momentum, Boeing’s 737 MAX project may finally be giving way to a successor. The company is reportedly in talks with Rolls-Royce to discuss engine options for the soon-to-be single-aisle plane.

Full-Scale Prototype Passes Major Milestone Four Years into the Flight Test Campaign

Austrian air taxi startup FlyNow Aviation is celebrating the first untethered test flights of its electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, the eCopter. The helicopter-like prototype first took to the skies with tethered flights in 2023 and is ambitiously targeting commercial rollout in 2027.

Also: Bristell Receives Part 23, Sonex Highwing Webinar, AV-30-C Update, MOSAIC Consultancy

The GA community is eagerly anticipating the date that marks the beginning of a new era for many pilots: October 22, 2025. That is when the long-awaited Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification – MOSAIC – final rule takes effect, and it will have a profound influence on many aspects of general aviation but perhaps most especially sport pilots. OK.... with a little over a month to go, it’s time to get serious! Thanks to the folks at Sun n Fun, we have a highly professional online ticketing apparatus at our disposal for next month’s Affordable Flying Expo. And we have other good news... use the code “AFE2025” and you can get $5 OFF the adult ticket price of $15 or even more for a three day pass. After an insane amount of work on the part of the ANN crew and more than a little hand holding by the event expe