Aviation Daily Digest — May 22, 2026

# Aviation Daily Digest — May 22, 2026

Your daily 60-second briefing for pilots, drone operators and aviation pros — auto-aggregated from the industry's top sources.

Top stories

• [Ex-Continental Boeing 777-200ERs To Become United Airlines’ 1st Widebodies With Starlink](https://simpleflying.com/ex-continental-boeing-777-200ers-become-united-airlines-1st-widebodies-starlink/) — Simple Flying. The first of UA's triple sevens to get new Wi-Fi.
• [The Pentagon Declared The F-35's Most Critical Upgrade 'Predominantly Unusable'](https://simpleflying.com/pentagon-declared-f-35s-critical-upgrade-predominately-unusable/) — Simple Flying. The problem with the Joint Strike Fighter.
• [A Look At The Dual Salaries Of Reserve & Air National Guard Pilots In 2026](https://simpleflying.com/dual-salaries-reserve-air-national-guard-pilots-2026/) — Simple Flying. What it pays to fly as a 'Weekend Warrior.'
• [JetBlue Selects Fort Lauderdale For New Airbus A220 Base Opening In January 2027](https://simpleflying.com/jetblue-select-fort-lauderdale-new-airbus-a220-base-open-january-2027/) — Simple Flying. JetBlue is rapidly transforming Fort Lauderdale into its largest Airbus A220 growth hub.
• [The Boeing 777X Will Physically Refuse To Take Off If Its Wings Are Still Folded](https://simpleflying.com/boeing-777x-physically-refuse-takeoff-wings-still-folded/) — Simple Flying. A visually striking feature, the folding wingtips on the 777X are critical to its operation.
• [How 1 Engine's Failures Quietly Redrew The Boeing 787's Entire Market Map](https://simpleflying.com/how-1-engine-failures-quietly-redrew-boeing-787-entire-market-map/) — Simple Flying. The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 used to be a popular engine choice for the 787, but, today, the General Electric GEnx dominates.
• [Why Replacing The US Air Force's Dying E-3 Sentry Fleet Has Become Nearly Impossible](https://simpleflying.com/why-replacing-us-air-force-dying-e-3-sentry-fleet-become-nearly-impossible/) — Simple Flying. The dilemma facing America's 'eye in the sky.'
• [Why Did Airbus Build The A380 With 4 Engines?](https://simpleflying.com/why-airbus-built-a380-4-engines/) — Simple Flying. A closer look at why this relatively modern double-decker has an outdated engine configuration.
• [The Qantas Fleet Order In 2000 That Locked It Out Of The World's Most Popular Widebody](https://simpleflying.com/qantas-fleet-order-2000-locked-out-worlds-most-popular-widebody/) — Simple Flying. The pivotal 2000 fleet decision under CEO James Strong that locked Qantas out of the world's most popular widebody aircraft.
• [Whistleblower Prompts FAA Medical Review Changes](https://avweb.com/aviation-news/whistleblower-prompts-faa-medical-review/) — AVweb. FAA added medical officers and changed case management procedures after the disclosure.

Pilot community highlights

_The community is quiet today._

What pilots are talking about (X / Twitter)

_No fresh aviation Twitter activity captured._

Jobs of the day

_No new postings today — see all open roles on [our jobs board](/jobs)._

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