r/aviation Jan 24 '26

Announcement Introducing "Seatbelts Fastened" Mode

121 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

212 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.


r/aviation 3h ago

-- SEATBELTS FASTENED -- I live in the take off path of SFO and built a ceiling projection mapping of the planes flying over my house using ADS-B radio

14.0k Upvotes

r/aviation 17h ago

-- SEATBELTS FASTENED -- The F-100D Super Sabre was tested with an experimental Zero-Length Launch (ZELL) system that used a massive, detachable solid-fuel rocket booster, Circa 1958

7.8k Upvotes

r/aviation 12h ago

News World's longest-range aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000ULR has taken to the skies for the first time, completing a three hour 43 minute flight at an altitude of 41,000 feet.

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2.2k Upvotes

r/aviation 4h ago

PlaneSpotting FedEx MD-11 into Newark Liberty!!!

185 Upvotes

FedEx 743 KMEM-KEWR, N621FE. First time I’ve seen an MD-11 flying post grounding!!!


r/aviation 11h ago

News Emirates A380 wake turbulence injures 5 on Eurowings A320 flight

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605 Upvotes

r/aviation 6h ago

PlaneSpotting First time seeing a mig 21

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241 Upvotes

r/aviation 4h ago

News FAA investigates close call between JetBlue flight, aircraft

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154 Upvotes

anyone have additional details on this close call?


r/aviation 5h ago

PlaneSpotting Damn fine tails at YVR last night…Quantas’ “Yam Dreaming” Livery on the 787-9 Dreamliner.

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151 Upvotes

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operated by Qantas rocking the “Yam Dreaming” livery from Qantas’ Indigenous Art Series.

The artwork is based on a painting by renowned Anmatyerre artist Emily Kame Kngwarreye and was adapted for the aircraft by Indigenous-owned design firm Balarinji.


r/aviation 2h ago

PlaneSpotting Canadair CL-415 Firefighting

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53 Upvotes

r/aviation 9h ago

PlaneSpotting F-14 on the USS Truman

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183 Upvotes

F-14


r/aviation 7h ago

Watch Me Fly A KLM Boeing 777 engine, backlit as the plane turns

117 Upvotes

r/aviation 8h ago

PlaneSpotting Slow motion 777 landing at Vancouver.

136 Upvotes

Getting to know new phone and videoing. Hope it works.


r/aviation 14h ago

PlaneSpotting Captured this majestic plane from my house.

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332 Upvotes

Bought a house closer to the airport and it had a balcony.

I got the entire family into plane spotting. We specifically monitor loud sounds as those are the larger planes. Mom heard something and asked me to checkout. I quickly grabbed my phone and captured this on the fly (pun intended).

What an absolute beauty flying in from Baku to Mumbai.


r/aviation 8h ago

PlaneSpotting Norwegian

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100 Upvotes

For the 'Merican majority here maybe a rare look, that Max with a carming livery with red in front and some honorable figures of history at the back. In this case the gentlemen at the fin is, sorry for the potato-quality and beware of pun, a Fin: Jean Sibelius, composer. Seen today at Stockholm-Arlanda ARN


r/aviation 12h ago

PlaneSpotting A pair of old workhorses in Africa

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195 Upvotes

According to our ramp handler at Lusaka International Airport in Zambia, Africa this DC-8 and 737 were parked on this ramp 40 or so years ago and haven’t moved since. He said the DC-8 was grounded due to owners not paying government fees and the 737 was seized from a former corrupt government.

The paint jobs may not reflect the previous owners as they are visible from the road and have kind of been turned into quasi bill boards.


r/aviation 1h ago

PlaneSpotting N98880 - Boeing 737-924ER(WL) - United Airlines - KMSY - 6-1-2026 - Thought I'd share one of my favs from my first spotting session at MSY. The clouds moved just long enough to allow the morning sunlight through.

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Upvotes

r/aviation 37m ago

Discussion Indian investigative magazine article alleging AI171 coverup (Air India 787 Dreamliner Crash in 2025)

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Upvotes

The Caravan is reputed for serious, long-form investigative journalism in India. This is their latest cover story that alleges that Boeing and Air India’s role in India’s deadliest aviation disaster is being covered up

https://archive.is/F4f8O

EDIT: I'm merely putting this here as perhaps worth reading, because this will be big soon. Even the Indian Supreme Court has been pulled into this investigation. While the Caravan is reputed for its journalism, it doesn't mean they have to be right, but it may be worth giving it a read.


r/aviation 3h ago

History Queensland Air Museum (AUS)

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39 Upvotes

Visited the Queensland Air Museum in Brisbane AUS (CUD/YCDR) and geeked out at all the displays there. Never heard of a Piaggio P166 before. The Beechcraft Starship was cool- I was told by one of the volunteers there that the engine guts (PT6-A) were removed. The Transavia Airtruk (seen in MadMax3) was neat but in poor shape, as were a lot of the outside displays. The DC-3/C-47 and F-111 in the hangar was worth the trip.


r/aviation 13h ago

PlaneSpotting My turn on the HDK (MSY to DAL)

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202 Upvotes

Great surprise to see this turn in to my gate as I am waiting here in the airport.


r/aviation 8h ago

PlaneSpotting Best of MIA

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83 Upvotes

More 777's and 747's in an hour than I usually see in a month


r/aviation 14h ago

News Another eVTOL Model Completes Manned Transition Flight

201 Upvotes

The VE25-100, developed by Volant Aerotech, completed its first manned transition flight a few days ago, Zigong, China.

This aircraft features an 8+2 propulsion configuration, utilizing eight motors to provide vertical lift and two for forward thrust.

During the day's flight maneuvers, the eVTOL successfully executed a vertical takeoff, transitioned flight mode, and performed a landing; however, it remains unclear whether the test flight was conducted under manual pilot control or via an autonomous flight system.

The aircraft's developer, established just four years ago, has recently secured a Series C funding round totaling 1 billion RMB.(Original Content)


r/aviation 12h ago

PlaneSpotting I caught Top Aces F-16B N852TA (formerly 78-0360 of the IAF) at KIWA yesterday sporting a new Su-34 Fullback-inspired paint scheme. [OC]

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118 Upvotes

r/aviation 10h ago

PlaneSpotting FBO buddies today

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77 Upvotes