Author: FlyMarshall Newsroom

Many of the most successful fighter pilots gained fame not only for their aerial tactics, but for their ability to pass their knowledge on to others. Ironically, some of those who handed down their tactical dictum to their men died because on one hubris-guided moment they disobeyed their own advice. Among these victims of their own negligence were World War I ace of aces Manfred von Richthofen and second-ranking American World War II ace Thomas B. McGuire Jr. Yet another cautionary tale was left by Neel Kearby. While a second lieutenant in the Army Reserves in 1938, Kearby shot up…

October 31, 2025, ©. Leeham News: We do a series about ideas on how the long development times for large airliners can be shortened. New projects talk about cutting development time and reaching certification and production faster than previous projects. The series will discuss the typical development cycles for an FAA Part 25 aircraft, called a transport category aircraft, and what different ideas there are to reduce the development times. We will use the Gantt plan in Figure 1 as a base for our discussions. We have exited the Preliminary Design phase through the Preliminary Design Reviews, PDRs, and now…

The Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 represent the pinnacle of long-haul passenger aviation, two engineering giants that defined luxury and capacity across generations. Yet behind the prestige and scale, the cost of buying, operating, and maintaining these double-deck and quad-engine aircraft has always been staggering. This feature breaks down the financial realities behind owning and flying the world’s largest passenger jets in 2025, revealing which program truly carries the heavier price tag. The Airbus A380 and Boeing 747 aircraft are no longer in production, but their operational and acquisition costs continue to set benchmarks for airlines and aviation investors worldwide.…

Flight delays and cancellations are mounting nationwide as the US government shutdown enters its fifth week, with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warning that staffing shortages among air traffic controllers are likely to worsen heading into the November holiday travel season.  On October 31, 2025, the FAA reported significant delays at airports in Austin, Texas, Newark, New Jersey, and Nashville, Tennessee, with average wait times ranging from 50 to 100 minutes. By midday, more than 2,200 flights had been delayed and over 300 canceled, according to FlightAware data. Officials said further disruptions were likely later in the day at Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth.  At least nine FAA facilities were short-staffed on October 31, the agency…

The Air Force told lawmakers it needs a fighter fleet of 1,558 manned, combat-coded fighters to carry out and sustain operations at a low risk, nearly 300 more than it has now. In an August report signed by Air Force Sec. Troy Meink, which was obtained by Defense News, the service said it needs to “grow to minimize risk” over the next decade, as it focuses on modernizing its current fifth-generation and legacy fighter fleets. Congress ordered the Air Force to produce this report, titled “Long-Term USAF Fighter Force Structure,” as part of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.An Air…

French investigators have released their preliminary report into a near-miss incident that took place at Nice Airport (NCE) in the south of France last month. On a dark September evening, a landing Nouvelair Airbus A320 came within 10 feet of an easyJet Airbus A320 when it mistakenly attempted to touch down on the departing runway occupied by the latter aircraft. The alarming incident made headlines for the serious nature of the unplanned runway incursion by the Tunisian aircraft, and because of how unthinkably bad the consequences could have been were it not for last-minute evasive action. Now, the BEA report…

As airline pilots on frequency marveled at the achievement, a Rotax-powered CubCrafters Carbon Cub set a new light-aircraft altitude record, climbing to 37,609 feet over California on October 28, 2025, and surpassing a benchmark that had stood for 75 years.  The flight, which some social-media users initially dismissed as an AI-generated spoof, has been verified by FlightAware data and confirmed by CubCrafters. It occurred with special FAA approval and coordination from the Los Angeles Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC).  The remarkable achievement — a climb to 37,609 feet in a factory-stock Carbon Cub UL — was made by flight instructor and YouTuber Jon Kotwicki, who launched from San Luis Obispo Airport (SBP) and reached the record…

Two drones raised alarms in the South Estonia region of Estonia on Oct. 17 when they appeared near the Reedo military barracks, resulting in one of the drones being shot down, according to an Estonian press report this week.The base, home to Estonia’s 2nd Infantry Brigade, currently houses U.S. troops of the Army’s 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment. Defense News requested a comment from U.S. Defense Department sources but had not received a response at the time of publication.The drones appeared at 4:30 p.m. One was downed with an anti-drone rifle, Liis Vaksmann, Estonian Defense Forces Headquarters spokesperson, told Estonian…

Lufthansa is the fifth-largest operator between Europe and the United States by passengers. In the 12 months to July 2025, the Star Alliance member carried 5.4 million round-trip passengers. Only Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and British Airways carried more people. These figures are from examining the latest US Department of Transportation data. Compared to the 12 months to July 2024, Lufthansa’s US traffic rose by a healthy 6%. It benefited from the launch of Munich-Seattle and Frankfurt-Raleigh/Durham routes, but Frankfurt-Minneapolis has shifted to its leisure unit Discover Airlines. Despite Lufthansa being the fifth-largest carrier, it grew at…

Thai SmartLynx, an ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) specialist airline and a partner of Avia Solutions Group, the world’s largest ACMI provider, has received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT). This achievement marks a major milestone for Thailand’s aviation industry as Thai SmartLynx becomes the first Thai-based ACMI operator, offering fleet capacity solutions to meet seasonal and operational needs across Thailand and the wider region. Thai SmartLynx is also the first airline in Thailand to obtain an AOC under CAAT’s new Thailand Civil Aviation Regulations on Air Operations (TCAR OPS) framework. Modelled…