Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Bryan Bedford Told Congress That He Needs $16 Billion, More Than The $12.5 Billion Approved
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told Congress on Tuesday that phase one of the air traffic control modernization plan will cost $16 billion, almost $4 billion more than Congress has approved. On top of that he said phase two will require another $10 billion. “It’s costing $16 billion to do phase one,” Bedford said at a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing. He said the FAA is funding the gap out of its facilities and equipment budget. He added the FAA wants at least another $10 billion for phase two of the project and Bedford urged lawmakers to approve it.
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Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Dan Hubbard Takes The Helm During Ed Bolen’s Leave As Heidi Williams Assumes A Bigger Operations Role
A major leadership change is unfolding at the National Business Aviation Association just weeks before its biggest annual gathering. Dan Hubbard is stepping into the association’s day to day leadership role while President and CEO Ed Bolen takes a leave of absence for cancer treatment. At the same time, Heidi Williams is moving into a newly elevated operations position that places her closer to NBAA’s work with regulators and the wider aviation industry.
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
AURA AERO Revives A Hybrid Electric Testbed To Advance Its 19 Seat ERA Aircraft
A proven aircraft is back in the air with a new name and a new job. X-VOLT has returned to flight testing at Rochefort Airport, bringing years of hybrid electric experience into AURA AERO’s next stage of development. Its next flights could help shape the propulsion system of the company’s 19 seat regional aircraft.
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Orbital Flight Plans To Deploy Starlink V3 Satellites
SpaceX has pushed the next launch of its Starship rocket back to September 28. The company had originally targeted Sept. 22 for the first orbital flight of Starship, the fully reusable rocket that the company is developing to help humanity settle the moon, Mars and more. It gave no explanation for the delay. Liftoff, from SpaceX’s Starbase site in South Texas, will occur during a 75-minute window that opens at 8:15 a.m. EDT. The upcoming flight will be the 14th overall for Starship, which debuted in April 2023 and has flown twice so far in 2026. But the 408-foot-tall (124-meter-tall) vehicle’s first 13 jaunts were all suborbital, so Flight 14 will be a landmark.
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Texas Air National Guard F-16 Participating In Training Exercises
An F-16 fighter jet from Texas went down in rural Michigan during a routine training exercise on Thursday, and the pilot ejected safely, a military spokesman said. Sgt. Derek Gutierrez, a public affairs specialist with the 149th Fighter Wing, said the pilot was receiving medical treatment at a local hospital. Gutierrez declined to release details about the pilot’s identity or any injuries, citing military policy. A spokesperson with the Michigan Department of Military and Veteran Affairs told News 8 that the F-16 is a part of the 149th Fighter Wing from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. A recent social media post from the 149th Fighter Wing says student and instructor pilots were heading from Texas to Michigan to take part in Operation Northern Cactus out of the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
China Is Targeting 2030 For Manned Lunar Mission
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said. Speaking at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber conference, Isaacman said collaboration between his civilian agency and the Pentagon, which are distinct from each other, is important and radically different from the People’s Republic of China’s lunar ambitions, which does not clearly distinguish between military and civilian operations. “Success in this endeavor will be measured in months, not years,” Isaacman said. “Our allies and adversaries are watching. So is every nation deciding whose technology to buy, whose standards to adopt, whose security relationships to deepen, and whose vision of the future to follow.”
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Attendee Registration Now Available as MOSAIC-Centric Event Heads for November 13–15 in Lakeland
The next major piece of the 2026 Affordable Flying Expo is officially in place, as online ticketing is now open for the November 13–15 event at the SUN ’n FUN Aerospace Expo campus in Lakeland, Florida. And with MOSAIC now fundamentally changing the landscape of personal aviation, this year’s AFE may be arriving at one of the most interesting moments the sport and recreational flying community has seen in decades. The Affordable Flying Expo was created around a fairly straightforward premise: affordable personal aviation deserves an event where it isn’t relegated to a corner of somebody else’s show. AFE brings together MOSAIC-class aircraft, Light
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
David Rush Sets A Guinness Record By Folding And Flying More Than Six Aircraft Every Minute
David Rush has turned a sheet of paper into the centerpiece of another record-breaking aviation feat. The serial record holder produced 415 qualifying paper airplanes during a single 60 minute attempt. Every aircraft had to satisfy strict folding and flight requirements before it could count.
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Also: National Aerobatic Championships, Pilot Chooses Cash Over Airplane, Maintenance Rules Rewrite, Paraglider Busted
The KFA Safari XL is a rugged two-place aircraft designed for backcountry flying, short-field operations and pilots who need a little more room than conventional light aircraft normally provide. Its wider cabin and additional headroom accommodate larger occupants comfortably, while oversized bush wheels, a robust airframe and STOL-oriented aerodynamics prepare it for operations from grass, gravel, sand and other unimproved surfaces. AFE26 Planning is moving ahead exceptionally well. In fact, we are already considerably ahead of where we were at this point during the development of last year’s inaugural event, and the experience gained from that first effort has allowed us to make this year’s Affordable Flying Expo more organized, more ambitious, and more valuable for exhibitors and attendees al
Sat, Sep 19, 2026
Also: RISEN SV 916 Record, Blackwing Heading To US Mkt, Nat’l Aerobatic Championships, Texarkana College & MOSAIC
An Aero-News team made its way to the Midwest Aviation Expo in Mount Vernon, Illinois, this past week, and while the event has certainly seen better days, its underlying potential remains obvious. Thursday’s weather complicated arrivals, exhibitor participation was down from previous years, and several manufacturers—including some once considered regular attractions—failed to appear. Inadequate marketing appears to be a significant part of the problem. DirectFly USA’s Alto NG is a Czech-built, all-metal, two-place light-sport aircraft developed from more than 15 years of experience with the original Alto in flight schools, aeroclubs, and private ownership. The NG replaced the earlier configuration in 2022, bringing several structural and operational refinements. Powered by the 100-horsepower Rotax 912