A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;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&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;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&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;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.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

FAA deputy associate administrator John Hickey handed Embraer Executive Jets president Marco Túlio Pellegrini the FAA type certificate for the fly-by-wire Legacy 500 this afternoon at the NBAA Convention in Orlando, Fla. The U.S. approval comes just two months after the super-midsize jet earned authorization from Brazil’s civil aviation authority.

 


“Designing a transport-category-sized airplane and going through all the steps it takes to get certification is not an easy process,” said Hickey during the certificate presentation. “That’s why there aren’t a lot of companies in this business that can do this, and Embraer is one of the best companies in this business.”

 


“We are so proud and very delighted to have this momentum,” said Pellegrini, as he accepted the certificate. “I would like to thank the FAA for their cooperation in accepting our design as the best airplane in this segment.”

 


Embraer delivered the first Legacy 500 less than two weeks ago to an undisclosed Brazilian company at its São José dos Campos headquarters. Its U.S. demonstrator–Legacy 500 S/N 008–is on exhibit this week at the NBAA 2014 static display at Orlando Executive Airport, as its in-flight-test sibling Legacy 450. The manufacturer expects to deliver up to six Legacy 500s by year-end.

Embraer Legacy 500 Gets FAA Papers at NBAA 2014

U.S. approval comes just two months after the super-midsize jet earned authorization from Brazil’s civil aviation authority.

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