Matt Thurber
Editor-in-Chief
Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.
Latest from Matt Thurber
Environment
Phillips 66 provides rebate for compassion missions
Phillips 66 Aviation is offering a $1-per-gallon rebate to qualifying pilots flying Angel Flight Northeast and Mercy Medical Airlift missions, when fuel is
Regulations and Government
FAA gives compliance a closer look
The FAA seems to have been extraordinarily busy of late finding incidents of non-compliance with regulations.
Maintenance and Modifications
Honeywell To Tear Down TPE331s that Operated in Ash
Honeywell’s engine division scored a unique opportunity last month when two TPE331-5 engines arrived at the company’s Phoenix headquarters.
FBOs
Sporavia and Aviastec plan FBO at Spanish airport
On May 4, Sporavia and Aviastec signed a 30-year lease with CR Aeropuertos for a four-acre lot at Ciudad Real Airport south of Madrid, where the companies
FBOs
Execujet opens new Zurich hangar
In April ExecuJet Aviation Group took over a 20,000-sq-ft hangar at Zurich’s Kloten Airport.
FBOs
Lyon Bron opens green hangar
Lyon Bron Airport in France held a grand opening for a new 32,000-sq-ft hangar on April 2.
Maintenance and Modifications
Volcanic ash imposing new layer of ops, mx concerns
A bold move by British Airways in April–the launching of 26 airplanes toward the UK while British airspace was closed–finally broke the European
FBOs
Landmark joins Globalair.com Air Resource Center
Landmark Aviation has added its 33 continental U.S.
FBOs
Privatair plans Bahrain expansion
PrivatAir is targeting a July 1 opening date for its new charter/management business in Bahrain.
FBOs
JetEx opens first international FBO
JetEx Flight Support has opened its first FBO, a refurbishment of the former Flying Group facility at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, which it acquired in Feb
FBOs
Rizon FBOs to open soon
Rizon Jet’s two FBOs at London Biggin Hill and Doha, Qatar, are set to open in July.
FBOs
Universal offers integrated tankering solution
Universal Weather & Aviation has added integrated fuel tankering calculations to its UVflightplanner.com system.
FBOs
Nice Airports get Bizav upgrades
France’s Nice Cote d’Azur Airport now has a consolidated general aviation terminal (GAT) housing three FBOs: Swissport Executive Aviation (a joint venture
FBOs
Air Rutter adopts Jetflite as new name
Charter/management operator Air Rutter International has changed its name to JetFlite International and added a new operating base at Republic Airport in F
FBOs
Avfuel adds handling services
Fuel distributor Avfuel now offers international flight planning and ground handling through its Avplan subsidiary.
FBOs
Cutter sells Dallas exec FBO
Cutter Aviation last month finalized a plan to consolidate its Dallas-area operations at its growing North Dallas location at Collin County Regional Airpor
FBOs
Harrods sold to Qatar Holdings
The Harrods Aviation FBOs at London Luton and Stansted airports, as well as helicopter charter operator Air Harrods, have been sold as part of a $2.2 billi
FBOs
New FBO under construction at Florida’s Page Field
A groundbreaking ceremony was held last month for a 46,000-sq-ft general aviation complex at Page Field in Fort Myers, Fla.
Aircraft
In the Works: June 2010
Gulfstream – G650Test pilot John O’Meara and senior experimental test pilot Tom Horne flew Gulfstream’s G650 proto- type to its top operating
Avionics
Jepp takes new approach with SolidFX reader
Pilots now have many choices for viewing approach plates, arrival and departure charts and airport diagrams in the cockpit, from traditional paper to elect
EBACE 2010: Event boosts hopes for coming recovery
An uneasy pall has settled over the aviation industry.
FAA Crackdown: Is Agency a Friend or Foe?
In AIN’s upcoming June issue, we raise the question of whether new FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is cracking down extra hard on the aviation indus
Maintenance and Modifications
Flabob High School Students Build Jet Engine
Anthony Mosallam and Jonathon Deming, students at the Flabob Airport Preparatory Academy in Riverside, Calif., designed and built a turbine engine for thei
Maintenance and Modifications
U.S. Civil Aviation Mx Has $39 Billion Impact
According to a study conducted by research firm AeroStrategy, the aviation maintenance industry in the U.S.
Maintenance and Modifications
Engine Damage Not Caused by Volcanic Ash
Dramatic photos circulating on the Internet purporting to show a Williams International FJ44-3A-24 installed on a Cessna Citation CJ2+ destroyed by exposur
Maintenance and Modifications
Iceland Eruption Has Different Effect on Windows
While pilots need to be careful not to fly through heavy concentrations of volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland, the glass particle-la
Maintenance and Modifications
Honeywell To See Volcano Effects First-hand
Engineers at Honeywell’s Phoenix engine division have received two TPE331-5 turboprops removed from a Dornier Do-228 operated by the UK’s National Environm
Training and Workforce
Calif. Legislation Could Cost Flight Training Providers
Assembly Bill 48, passed last year by the state of California, eliminates a long-standing flight training facility exemption from authorizing legislation f
