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.

Business Aviation Services Editor

Curt Epstein

The aviation industry speaks with its own jargon and acronym-filled language, one that can take years to master. To help with that challenge, Aviation Supplies and Academics has released the fourth edition of its Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms. To paraphrase the editor of the book, no other aspect of modern technology encompasses as many disciplines as aviation: physics, chemistry, aerodynamics, thermodynamics, structural and fluid mechanics, electronics, acoustics, engine technology, meteorology and navigation. Add complex and sometimes arcane federal regulations to the mix and the niche for such a dictionary becomes evident. 
The tome contains definitions for more than 10,000 aviation terms, from AAM (air-to-air missile) to Zyglo inspection. While few may encounter Lissajous figures during the course of their daily activities, it’s reassuring to know the definition is there if you need it, and those who read the book from cover to cover will learn that a delta connection is a type of wiring harness for three-phase alternating-current generators, rather than a regional airline. While the dictionary is not lavishly illustrated, the few drawings are clear and concise. One useful feature is the appendix containing an exhaustive list of acronyms and abbreviations, including many of military origin. At 750 pages, the soft-cover book might not be portable enough for cramped cockpits, but it certainly deserves a home on a shelf in every corporate flight department. The Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms retails for $19.95.

An Aviation Lexicon

The aviation industry speaks with its own jargon and acronym-filled language, one that can take years to master.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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