Aviation Daily Digest — August 21, 2026

# Aviation Daily Digest — August 21, 2026

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

Top stories

• Will Russia Even Be A Strategic Bomber Power By 2030? Its Intended Replacement Still Hasn't Flown — Simple Flying. Russia's place as one of the 'big three' strategic bomber nations is looking increasingly shaky out to 2030 as its Soviet inheritance disappears.
• Bodycam shows aftermath of Marine F/A-18 crash in Washington state — AeroTime. Newly released body camera footage from the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office shows the moments after a US Marine… The post Bodycam shows aftermath of Marine F/A-18 crash in Washington state appeared first on AeroTime .
• Here's How Many New Planes American Airlines Expects To Take Delivery Of In 2026 — Simple Flying. The airline revised its delivery numbers multiple times this year.
• How Many Miles Per Gallon Does A Boeing 747 Get? — Simple Flying. The 747 uses vast quantities of fuel, burning through 3,800 gallons every hour. This high fuel burn is equivalent to 0.19 mpg
• Here's Why The US Air Force Chose The F-35A Over The F-22 For Export Partners — Simple Flying. Congress simply was not willing to send the F-22's secrets abroad.
• How Cabin Crew Pay Actually Works: The Hidden Pillars Behind Every Flight Attendant Paycheck — Simple Flying. All is not quite what it seems.
• Delta Air Lines Extends 44-Seat First Class Airbus A321neo Flights Between Las Vegas & Atlanta — Simple Flying. The airline plans to operate the aircraft through at least April 11, 2027.
• 71-Year-Old Man Says United Airlines Left Him Without Oxygen & Only Offered A $150 Credit — Simple Flying. The dispute occurred on a flight from Utah to Houston.
• 50 Years After The SR-71's Unbroken Record, Its Strangest Engineering Secrets Still Stand Out — Simple Flying. Half a century later the rich story of a legendary plane is still unraveling.
• United Airlines Finishes Phase 1 Expansion Of World’s Largest Flight Training Center — Simple Flying. More than 22 acres and 12 football fields of training space support 32,000 annual simulator sessions and growth.

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._

---