r/aviation • • Jan 24 '26

Announcement Introducing "Seatbelts Fastened" Mode

181 Upvotes

Hi r/aviation community,

Recently, we’ve seen an increase in political and uncivil comments across several threads, particularly on posts involving aircraft associated with government officials. This has led to more removals and bans under Reddit’s sitewide rules, and we want to reverse that trend.

To help address this, we’re introducing a “Seatbelts Fastened” mode/flair. Posts with this flair (applied manually by the mod team) will restrict commenting to established community members. For now, that means users with at least 100 comment karma in r/aviation. If you are the original poster, your comments will not be affected.

You can view your subreddit comment karma by doing the following:

This will apply to a small subset of threads (aircraft incidents, government-owned/controlled aircraft, global legislation, etc.). The vast majority of posts (roughly 95%) will remain open to all users as usual. Please do not contact modmail requesting comment approvals or exceptions; we won’t be making individual overrides.

Thanks for your understanding and for helping keep the subreddit focused and civil.


r/aviation • • Apr 19 '26

Moderator Announcement 2026: Updated Rules on Politics

259 Upvotes

OUR RULES ON POLITICS: 2026

IF YOU DO NOT READ THIS POST, YOU RISK BEING BANNED

r/aviation is an aviation-focused subreddit.

All political discussion must be directly related to aviation.

Again, all political discussion must be directly related to aviation.

If it does not clearly connect to aviation, it will be removed.

WHAT IS ALLOWED

We allow discussion of aviation-related regulations, policy changes, and government actions only when they directly impact aviation operations (e.g., FAA/EASA rules, ATC staffing, safety, infrastructure).

Examples:

● “The FAA is proposing changes to ATC staffing. This could impact delays and safety.”

● “New pilot duty time regulations may affect regional operations.”

● “Changes to FAA funding may impact staffing levels and service reliability.”

● “Legislation affecting FAA funding was signed and may impact ATC staffing.”

WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED

We do not allow:

  • General political opinions or commentary

  • Discussion of political figures outside of direct aviation impact.

  • Political insults, slogans, or talking points.

  • “Political-adjacent” comments meant to provoke or derail

  • Assigning political blame or credit within aviation discussions

If your comment is about a politician or political group more than it is about aviation, it will be removed.

Examples:

● “This is what [politician] always does.”

● “Both sides are ruining everything.”

● “This wouldn’t happen if [political group] was in charge.”

● “The FAA is doing this because of [politician].”

COMMUNITY INPUT

We have asked the community directly about political content in this subreddit.

In a poll, users voted roughly 2:1 against allowing broader political discussion.

These rules reflect that feedback, along with our goal of keeping discussions focused and productive.

ENFORCEMENT

Political or off-topic comments will be removed. Repeated violations may result in bans. In high traffic or seatbelt fastened threads enforcement will be stricter.

The mod team all works full time hours, we cannot see everything posted or commented. If you see a post or comment that you believe breaks the no politics rule please report it.

“Just mentioning it” or “adding context” does not exempt a comment from removal.

FREQUENT REBUTTALS

“But aviation and politics overlap”

● Yes. Keep it strictly within aviation context. If it drifts into general politics, it will be removed.

“But I was just explaining something”

● If it introduces political discussion beyond aviation context, it will still be removed.

“Why was I banned”

● You either did not read this post or chose to ignore it.

We all care about this community and want it to stay a place people can come to enjoy and learn about aviation. These rules are here to keep it that way.

-Mid summer update-

We have set up a new subreddit with very relaxed rules for politcal discussion or similar. r/AviationPolitics


r/aviation • • 8h ago

History Space-saving armrest design in the Concorde

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1.6k Upvotes

Source: OC inside Alpha-Foxtrot, the last Concorde to fly! Note: I was given permission to do this by the coordinator that was showing me around. This is a post about the engineering of the armrests in Concorde not how long my nails should be.


r/aviation • • 11h ago

Discussion My MiG-17 Pumpkin Carving

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1.2k Upvotes

I just finished my aviation-themed pumpkin carving for Halloween this year! After seeing the Mig-17 flying at Airshow London, I was inspired to make that the subject of my carving this year. Apologies if the flair is wrong, I wasn't sure what would fit best.


r/aviation • • 16h ago

PlaneSpotting Flying Catfish (F-100 Super Saber) over my apartment this evening

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1.2k Upvotes

Forgive the bad camera work, I was busy watching the plane with my own eyes


r/aviation • • 17h ago

PlaneSpotting Condor Airlines landing at Sea-Tac with Mount Rainier as a backdrop

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1.1k Upvotes

r/aviation • • 8h ago

PlaneSpotting NASA WB-57 Landing PWAK

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222 Upvotes

What the title says. Rare bird, even rarer that we get permission to photograph or video on the flightline. Enjoy!


r/aviation • • 8h ago

History Aerospace Filton, the British home of the Concorde 🛫

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200 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 15h ago

History The rollout ceremony for NASA’s first space shuttle, OV-101, with cast of Star Trek on September 17, 1976.

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355 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 6h ago

PlaneSpotting My view during taxi this morning

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50 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 22h ago

PlaneSpotting Gotta love those vortices

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921 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 1d ago

-- SEATBELTS FASTENED -- Aerial view of numerous ships at night while flying over Singapore

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7.2k Upvotes

My sister recorded this video while flying from Delhi to the USA. She was flying over Singapore when she noticed numerous large ships illuminated across the sea at night.

I found it fascinating to see so many ships from the aircraft. Is this a common sight on flight routes passing over Singapore, given its role as a major shipping hub?

Sharing the video to learn more about what can be seen from the air in this region.


r/aviation • • 2h ago

News Instructor likely conducting spin recovery practice in inappropriate aircraft type (Cessna 210N) prior to Goolwa accident

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15 Upvotes

An instructor was likely conducting spin recovery practice in an aircraft type that is not approved for intentional spinning, before a fatal accident off Goolwa, South Australia, an ATSB investigation has found.

The accident occurred on 6 February 2026, after a Cessna 210N departed Goolwa Airport with a flight instructor, a commercial pilot licence holder, and a passenger on board.

The flight was intended to give the commercial pilot experience in the aircraft under the supervision of the operator’s check and training instructor for Cessna aircraft.

About 12 minutes into the flight, radar data showed the aircraft at about 3,375 ft, before it began to descend rapidly.

Witnesses saw the aircraft in a steep spiral descent, and video footage showed it in a left spin, immediately before it collided with water.

The aircraft was destroyed and all three occupants were fatally injured.

The ATSB received multiple reports that the instructor had previously demonstrated spin recovery in the accident aircraft to pilots gaining Cessna 210 experience.

On the accident flight, the instructor likely initiated a spin so the commercial pilot could practise the recovery.

However, the Cessna 210 is not approved for intentional spinning, and its behaviour and recovery characteristics in a fully developed spin are unknown.

“The instructor had a history of spin activity violations in this aircraft, from which they had previously successfully recovered before the spin fully developed,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.

“This likely gave the instructor the confidence to begin spins at progressively lower heights.”

The investigation found that the commercial pilot likely mishandled the recovery during the incipient, or early developing, stage of the spin.

The instructor did not intervene in time to prevent the spin becoming fully developed and recover the aircraft within the height available.

The instructor’s previous spin activity violations had not been reported to the aircraft operator or the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. As a result, no action was taken to prevent the activity.

“Other pilots who knew about the unauthorised spins were reluctant to report them, including because they felt powerless to act or believed it was not their responsibility,” Mr Mitchell said.

“This highlights the importance of designing and promoting reporting systems that recognise and address barriers to reporting unsafe flying practices.”

Read the final report: Loss of control and collision with water involving Cessna 210N, VH-RDH, 14 km south-east of Goolwa Airport, South Australia, on 6 February 2026


r/aviation • • 14h ago

PlaneSpotting ATAC Dassault Mirage aerobraking at Luke AFB

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100 Upvotes

Been spotting at luke the last week. This guy aero-braked at least 4,000ft


r/aviation • • 7h ago

PlaneSpotting TUIfly “Melia” livery taxiing at Manchester Airport (MAN)

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25 Upvotes

I actually really love this photo that I took yesterday. But I’ve actually never seen this livery before.


r/aviation • • 1d ago

News Hail damage today to a Yemenia Airways Airbus A320. Aircraft was enroute from Aden International Airport (ADE) to Queen Alia International Airport (AMM)

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747 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 5h ago

PlaneSpotting R.I.P Spirit

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12 Upvotes

OC
Pls don’t take my post down.


r/aviation • • 4h ago

Discussion Repair of asphalt lightning damage

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9 Upvotes

I had no idea lightning could cause that much damage to asphalt. This must happen quite often, and lead to a lot of delays?


r/aviation • • 17h ago

PlaneSpotting DCA is amazing in the fall

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77 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 1d ago

Discussion Why do the ailerons for the A321XLR act as ground spoilers while the ailerons remain at neutral for the A321 NEO on landing?

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490 Upvotes

Have always been interested in aviation and I pay very close attention to small details, like the positioning of the primary flight controls as those interests me the most.

I've recently noticed the ailerons behave differently on the A321XLR compared to the A321neo upon touchdown.

On the XLR, the aileron essentially deflects upwards and almost acts as an extra ground spoiler along with the main spoilers. I understand this is what's called the "aileron anti droop" function which is found on the A320neo, A350/some Boeing aircraft as well.

But looking at the A321neo, the aileron remains at neutral after touch down and does not deflect upwards.

I've watched a lot of landing videos and it does seem to support this hypothesis.

The above screenshots of 2 landing videos, shows the XLR aileron deflecting upwards while the A321N's ailerons remain neutral.

Any A321 neo/XLR pilots here can explain why does the A321XLR have this function while the regular A321N doesn't?

I've searched online but can't seem to find anything.

Would be great to learn the underlying reasons of why the XLR's flight controls are designed as such!


r/aviation • • 16h ago

News D-AXGE, the last A330-200 in the Discover Airlines' fleet, will retire after returning to FRA.

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45 Upvotes

Last-ever revenue flight (4Y 51) for the A330-200 in Discover paint.

https://fr24.com/data/flights/4y51/schedules/5880411108


r/aviation • • 1d ago

News a Sunexpress B737 MAX came close to having a wing strike while landing at Edinburgh Airport on October 25th due to Storm Boelo's extreme winds

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506 Upvotes

r/aviation • • 16h ago

PlaneSpotting Unexpected Antonov sighting

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34 Upvotes

Happened to be at the right place at the right time. An-124 coming into ORF this afternoon. Never thought I’d see one with my own eyes.


r/aviation • • 1d ago

PlaneSpotting at London City Airport

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105 Upvotes

lift off at London City Airport


r/aviation • • 1d ago

PlaneSpotting [OC] First Everett-built Boeing 737

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946 Upvotes

First Everett-built Boeing 737 MAX 10 outside today at the factory. Line Number 9504 for WestJet.

Date: 10/26/2026
Location: Everett / Paine Field (KPAE)