Also: Pilot Age Cap, Skylar AI Flight Assistant, NS-36 Mission, ALPA v Shutdown The federal government has officially gone into lockdown mode. The FAA will be laying off around a fourth of its staff, leaving 11,000 employees in limbo as another 13,000 air traffic controllers are forced to work on their own dime. Air traffic controllers are considered critical roles, meaning they are required to remain on the job but won’t receive pay until the shutdown ends. 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. 55-year-old content creator Tang Feiji was killed on September 27, 2025, after losing control of his twin-rotor ultralight. He was livestreaming on social media at the time. Feij had just taken off in Jiange County of China’s Sichuan Province when the accident occurred. He was broadcasting to his followers on Douyin, like the Chinese version of TikTok… All this — and MORE in today’s episode of Airborne-Unlimited!!!
