AOPA | Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Thomas Justin Smith, a private pilot, A&P/IA, and business owner in Sebring, Florida, was jailed October 22 following his arrest on charges stemming from a 17-month annual inspection of a light sport aircraft that, according to the aircraft owner, never happened.

The latest felony charges against Smith, 32, are the same as the first set: grand theft, fraud, and use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony. Smith's first arrest on July 31 followed a police investigation of the alleged theft of nearly $65,000, and the alleged attempted theft of another $60,000, from Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 1240 in Sebring where he served as chapter treasurer. He established a business, Hendricks Field Aviation, on the grounds of Sebring Regional Airport in 2021, state records show.

According to police and court records, Smith was arrested on new charges on October 22, after police investigated a more unusual crime—the 514-day impoundment of an LSA that included many conversations with the owner, Logan Kugler, via phone, text, and email, and that culminated in Kugler's August 15 visit to Smith's shop, housed in a pair of hangars, two weeks after Smith's initial arrest.

"Justin Smith took custody of my airworthy airplane that was recently appraised at approximately $200,000, and over the course of more than 500 consecutive days of extraordinary deception, deceit and malicious behavior, he reduced it to salvage," Kugler wrote in an email to AOPA accompanied by an arrest report, documents detailing the extended timeline of the purported annual inspection, as well as notes on related communication Kugler had with FAA officials and others while attempting to verify some of Smith's representations to him.

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@NORADCommand led a multiagency presentation for the general aviation community in South Florida ahead of what it expects to be a busy winter season. The message: "Check your notams."

The Continental U.S. NORAD Region held an open house for local pilots at President Donald J Trump International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, in early October.

The open house was NORAD's third such forum, following one in South Florida in late 2025 and another in Bedminster, New Jersey, in spring 2026.
Pilots, flight instructors, and local business owners heard from U.S. Air Force fighter pilots who intercept pilots who violate temporary flight restrictions, as well as FAA, TSA, and U.S. Coast Guard officials. Topics included TFR procedures, airspace security, intercept protocols, and local operations during VIP movements.

"Preparation is key. Before you ever step out to the aircraft... check your notams," said the West Palm Beach airport's Air Traffic Manager Mark Siviglia, who summarized the requirements for flying into the outer ring of a VIP TFR as, "squawk, talk, and flight plan."

"If you're on the ground, do all three of those before you depart. If you're outside the TFR ring, do all three of these before you come in," Siviglia added.

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"Jimmy," set to release on November 6, introduces audiences to the World War II military service of Hollywood actor James "Jimmy" Stewart.

While widely remembered for his storied acting career, known for roles in It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stewart was an accomplished bomber pilot who flew 20 combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe with the Eighth Air Force. He served as the commander of the 453rd Bomb Group, flying Consolidated B–24 Liberators, and later spent nearly three decades in the Air Force Reserve, retiring as a brigadier general.

To mark the film's release, the Dallas-based Commemorative Air Force (@CAF1957) is highlighting Stewart's legacy during its Aviation Discovery Fest on November 6 and 7 at Dallas Executive Airport. Visitors will be able to see Diamond Lil, the CAF’s B–24 Liberator. As the only flying B–24A left in the world, the aircraft is a rare surviving example of the bomber type that Stewart and his fellow airmen flew during the war. Film director Aaron Burns noted that the CAF provided critical technical assistance to the production to ensure the aircraft's history was accurately portrayed.

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The AOPA Foundation awarded more than $2.2 million in scholarships in 2026—the largest amount in the foundation's history—with an average award of $6,500.

With support from the Ray Foundation, more than $1.3 million will go to 115 high school students and teachers, who will each receive $12,000 toward training for their private pilot certificate.

In addition to the high school scholarships, the AOPA Foundation awards other scholarships that can be used toward sport, private, commercial, or flight instructor certificates; instrument or multiengine ratings; and nonflying aviation pursuits such as mechanic or flight dispatcher training.

"Every one of these scholarships starts with donors who are passionate about aviation and choose to invest in someone else's future. Their generosity is changing lives across the country," said AOPA Foundation Senior Vice President Elizabeth Tennyson.

The AOPA Foundation recently improved its application process and now offers two application periods each year instead of one. The first application period each year runs from April to June, and the second from October to December.

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The Manistee Blacker Airport Authority has reversed course on the $10 landing fee adopted in August for light general aviation aircraft at Michigan’s Manistee County/Blacker Airport.

At its October 12 meeting, the authority's board voted to change the charge to a facility fee that applies only to operators who park on the airport's ramp and use its landside access, instead of charging for every landing.

The vote came less than two months after the board adopted a rates and charges schedule, set to take effect October 1, that applied landing fees to light GA aircraft. AOPA pushed back and, in a letter to the airport authority, Great Lakes Regional Manager Kyle Lewis called the landing fees "extremely concerning," noting that "small general aviation airports rarely charge landing fees to all aircraft, and the proposed... fee far exceeds many other categorical landing fee schedules for light aircraft (under 12,500 lbs.) at airports across the country."

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