Curt Epstein
Senior Editor
A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined AIN in 2007, Curt came to the publication from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to AIN sister publication Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.
Latest from Curt Epstein
Aircraft
Plenty of life still left in fourth-generation Eagle
Boeing’s F-15 Eagle has racked up an enviable 104-0 combat record, as one of the world’s top-flight air-superiority and air-to-ground assault fighters.
People in Aviation: June 2008
Gulfstream Aerospace appointed Larry Flynn senior vice president for marketing and sales.
Training and Workforce
Pilot shortage ahead, IATA plans to bolster numbers
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is taking steps to address the looming pilot and mechanic shortage facing airlines globally.
Cabin Interior and Electronics
Unwilling to wait for new jets, buyers opt for CRJ conversions
With the backlog for new business jets extending years into the future in some cases, and with used large-cabin aircraft prices soaring, several enterprise
Rotorcraft
AINtv: Los Angeles County Fire Department
Winners of this year’s Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service talk to Curt Epstein about the past, present and future of helicopter use in firefighting.
People in Aviation: May 2008
United Technologies president Louis Chenevert has been elected CEO by the company’s board of directors.
Avionics
SuperAWOS on the rise
While automated weather observing systems (AWOS) have been a fixture at airports for many years, what some feel is the next generation of the technology ha
Changes at top for Bombardier
Bombardier has named Guy Hachey president and COO of its aerospace division, following Pierre Beaudoin’s promotion to president and COO of Bombardier Inc.
Aircraft
Embraer Rolls out First Phenom 300
Ten months after Embraer rolled out its Phenom 100 VLJ, its larger stablemate made its debut at the company’s Gavião Peixoto plant in Brazil.
Charter & Fractional
Operator gives helo fractional a ‘Whirl’
With the successes of the fractional model for business jet ownership, it was perhaps only a matter of time before a national fractional helicopter operati
Charter & Fractional
New Web site merges aviation worlds
For most people, private and commercial aviation are separate experiences and are seldom combined within the same itinerary.
Safety
Arinc offers radiation monitoring
Flight services provider Arinc has added an automatic radiation calculating feature to its Arinc Direct flight solution package.
Charter & Fractional
NetJets Staying Put, Expanding in Ohio
Speaking yesterday at the fractional provider’s Port Columbus (Ohio) Airport operations center, NetJets CEO Richard Santulli ended months of speculation by
Adventures in Flying
For more than 38 years, AIN contributor Jack Elliott, an award-winning journalist and member of the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame, chronicled avi
US Helicopter succeeding where others have failed
Imagine you’re a business traveler running late after a meeting in downtown Manhattan.
Igor I. Sikorsky Award: LACFD
This year’s Igor Sikorsky Humanitarian Award goes not to an individual, but to an organization that celebrated a special milestone last year.
Promoting free trade, Bush, Schwarzenegger tour Robinson factory
While Robinson Helicopter has had many visitors to its plant in the company’s 35-year history, certainly none were more noteworthy than President George W.
Charter & Fractional
The Air Group joins Sentient Jet stable
Sentient Jet Holdings has continued its pattern of aggressive growth with the purchase of Van Nuys, Calif.-based The Air Group.
FBOs
Military expands testing of synthetic aviation fuels
The December nonstop coast-to-coast flight of an Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster III using a synthetic fuel blend, the first for the type, is the latest
Accidents
Fewer accidents, more fatalities in 2007
While the total number of accidents involving business jets and turboprops was down in 2007 compared with the previous year, the accidents were more costly
Engines
Rolls-Royce announces U.S. plant for 10K engine
Following the selection of its RB282 to power Dassault’s new super-midsize design at the Paris Air Show in June– beating competing designs from Snecma, Hon
USAF C-17 Flies Using Synthetic Fuel Blend
On Monday, in what Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne described as a “special and meaningful mission,” a C-17 Globemaster III heavy airlift airplane touched
Maintenance and Modifications
Hawker Beechcraft opens shop in Mexico
Hawker Beechcraft opened its new sheet metal assembly facility in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Safety
Saab studies missile-protection system
For business jets operating in potentially hostile areas, Sweden’s Saab might soon offer some protection.
Industry on track for a record year
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) released its third-quarter shipment and billings report, showing good news for business aviation OEMs
Aircraft
Beech stretches King Air’s legs
Hawker Beechcraft has obtained FAA certification for the King Air 350ER (ER for extended range), which adds nacelle fuel tanks to raise the aircraft’s fuel
Training and Workforce
SaferJett to provide training for Adam pilots and mechanics
Adam Aircraft has chosen Colorado-based SaferJett to provide training for its aircraft programs.
Cessna workers agree to new deal
Cessna reached a new labor agreement with the union representing nearly 6,000 of its workers.
Maintenance and Modifications
Testing Continues on Citation X Winglet Mod
The first test flights of a Cessna Citation X equipped with Winglet Technology’s new elliptical winglets are proceeding well, according to Bob Kiser, presi
Safety
Business turbine airplane Accident fewer but deadlier
While the number of fatal accidents involving turbine-powered business airplanes declined slightly through the first nine months of this year compared with
