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

Airborne communications and flight following provider Guardian Mobility has appointed Howard Pearl president and CEO. He succeeds founding CEO Jean Carr.
Jeppesen has named Paul Eckert v-p of aviation for Europe. He will lead the company’s European, Middle East and African operations.
Maintenance program provider Jet Support Services (JSSI) has appointed Greg Martin v-p of business development for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Previously he was director of business development for Parker Hannifin’s aerospace group.
Bob Weinwurzel, most recently v-p of flight operations with ExcelAire, has been named v-p of charter services with Long Island, N.Y.-based Talon Air.
1st Source Bank has promoted Greg Holst from v-p to president of the aircraft financing division in the company’s specialty finance group.
Olathe, Kan.-based MRO specialist Butler National has promoted Craig Stewart from director of sales and marketing for aviation to president of its aerospace division.
Tulsa, Okla.-based aircraft component and maintenance supplier Nordam Group has promoted Steve Pearson from managing director of sales and support services, Asia Pacific, to v-p of sales and marketing for the same regions.
Robert Iverson, former president and general manager of Private Flight Group, has joined aircraft services provider 26 North Aviation as v-p of managed aircraft.
Greenwich AeroGroup subsidiary Matrix Aviation has added two new sales directors to its staff. Russell Jones was named the avionics specialist’s director of sales for Latin America, while Jeremy Lee will serve the Asia-Pacific region.
Bombardierhas made several additions to its international business aircraft sales organization. The company added sales director Carine Truong, responsible for North and South-East Asia, excluding Indonesia, and Michael Han, sales director for China, including Hong Kong and Macau to its Asia-Pacific team. Philippe Dalcher and Manny Kapranos joined the Russia and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) team as sales director, Russia and sales manager, Russia and CIS, respectively. Ross Mitchell moved from the company’s commercial aircraft sales division to become sales director for Eastern Europe, while Hani Haddadin was named sales manager for the Middle East and Africa.
Executive AirShare has promoted J. Michael McMillan, previously senior sales director in Texas, to v-p of sales for the central U.S. The fractional aircraft ownership provider also added Sven Lepschy as Phenom program manager. He most recently served as the Embraer CAE Training Services head of training.
Gulfstream has promoted David Nield from advanced manufacturing programs and technology production design team lead to director of final phase operations.
Czech Republic-based private aviation services provider ABS Jets has promoted Jan Kralik from head of operations to director of ground operations.
Landmark Aviationhas promoted Josh Lewis from operations manager to general manager of its Waukegan location and has tapped Marty Kretchman, previously with Suncoast Air Center in Venice, Fla., as general manager of its Asheville N.C. facility.
Pauline Smith has been named FBO manager at Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi. Most recently she headed ExecuJet Middle East’s facility at Dubai International Airport.
Avitat Boca Raton has named Elise Donald its new customer service supervisor. She was previously client liaison at Everest Fuel Management.
Waco, Texas turboprop modification specialist Blackhawk has promoted Edwin Black from director of marketing and sales to director of global sales. Scott Cheairs, previously with Hawker Beechcraft Services, will fill the newly created position of director of core parts sales.
Levan Tabidze, previously an engineering manager for Sino-Swearingen, has taken the same position at Twin Commander Aircraft.
Cal Lewis, previously maintenance supervisor for TAG Aviation USA, has joined Carlsbad, Calif.-based aviation services provider Jet Source as maintenance manager.
FlightSafety International has promoted Timothy Decoursey from program manager for the Citation Ultra to assistant manager of its learning center in Columbus, Ohio. Todd Bitgood was promoted from director of training to assistant manager of the training provider’s St. Louis, facility.
Air medical transport provider Air Methods has promoted Chris Bassett from chief pilot to director of operations.
Hannah Mitchison, most recently with Orange Aero, has joined engine repair and overhaul provider BBA Aviation as regional sales manager covering the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. Brent Hornbeck, formerly customer project manager at Hawker Beechcraft Services, has joined the company’s Dallas Airmotive subsidiary as manager of its regional turbine center in Phoenix, while Ron Gottschalk was named regional sales manager for the company’s Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada engine services.
Cutter Aviationhas named R.D. Wooten, previously an aircraft sales manager with Avex, regional aircraft sales manager at its Phoenix facility.
UK-based Axon Aviation Charter has appointed Richard Walker, formerly of senior v-p of program sales with VistaJet, its new director of business development.
International jet sales consultancy Aviatrade has appointed Jerry Connolly its European director. The head of his own consultancy, Connolly retired from the Royal Air Force as air vice-marshal.Piper Aircraft has promoted Vincent Zarrella from senior manager of customer operations to director of customer service. Jim Slaton, previously manager of warranty, was named senior manager of parts sales.UK helicopter charter and management specialist PremiAir has appointed Mike Preston director of engineering and maintenance. Previously he served as accountable manager/director of maintenance for NetJets (Europe) Technical Services. John Burnum, formerly regional sales manager for King Aerospace, was chosen as director of business development for aircraft maintenance provider Business Jet Access.Helicopter completions and repair provider Metro Aviation has hired Richard Gross as assistant director of operations. Previously he was a senior director of sales for American Eurocopter.Paragon Aviation Group has added Scott Jefvert, previously with Galvin Flying Services in Seattle, as director of sales.
Greenwich AeroGroup named Mike Slattery to its interior product management team. He had been leading interiors and completion efforts at its Western Aircraft subsidiary.
West Star Aviation has appointed Kurt Sutterer, the recently retired president of Midcoast Aviation, to its board of directors. The MRO provider also appointed Dale Appleby technical sales manager.Private aviation provider National Jets announced that George Martinez will take over the company’s sales and marketing departments in addition to his role as director of flight programs. Flight coordinators Seth Thompson and Patrick Frawley have been promoted to manager of flight programs and manager of sales and marketing, respectively, for the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company.Phillips 66 Aviation has promoted several team members. R.G. Still, former director of branded sales for general aviation, has been promoted to manager of wholesale sales mid-continent, global marketing for Conoco Phillips. He was replaced by Rick Duste, the company’s former director of programs development for general aviation. Rosemary Leone, previously business improver for general aviation, succeeded Duste.Wichita-based business and regional aircraft parts supplier GlobalParts.aero has named four new sales representatives. Chris Allison and Bryan Hickey, formerly with Avgroup, will serve the southeast U.S., while Teri Lang, most recently with Honeywell International, will cover the southwest. Don Demuth will handle the West Coast.NVG cockpit modifications specialist Aero Dynamix has named Tonka Hufford operations manager for project development. Most recently he was president of RSG Aviation. Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research has hired Paul Jonas as director of the environmental test labs and special programs.Thomas Kinton Jr., CEO and executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority, announced his retirement.George Hunyadi, president of BankNote Aviation and a member of NBAA’s board of directors, announced his retirement. He was Rubbermaid’s chief pilot for 30 years. o
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Final flights
AIN sends its condolences to the families of the flight-test crew of G650 S/N 6002, which crashed on April 2, in Roswell, N.M.
Kent Crenshaw, 64, Gulfstream’s chief test pilot for commercial and special missions test programs, graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1969, and went on to serve 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1989. In recognition of his service in Southeast Asia, he was awarded three Air Medals and the Distinguished Flying Cross. In 1976 he received his master’s degree in aeronautical engineering and was a graduate of the U.S. Air Force test pilot school, where he served as chief of academics as well as a test pilot flight and academic instructor. He later flew for Northwest Airlines and served as chief test pilot for Northrop Grumman, where he tested the B-2 bomber. He had worked at Gulfstream for the past 14 years.
Vivan Ragusa, 51, an experimental test pilot in the Gulfstream G650 program, served in the U.S. Navy first as a radar intercept officer in the A-6 Intruder before earning his wings as an F/A-18 pilot. In 1999 he earned a master of science degree in aeronautical engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and graduated from the Navy’s test pilot school. During his 23 years in the Navy, Ragusa was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and retired with the rank of Commander in 2007. He joined Gulfstream that same year as an airborne product support pilot.
Flight-test engineer David McCollum, 47, graduated from Marion Military Institute High School in Alabama in 1981 and earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering science and mechanics from Georgia Tech. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves in 1983, and trained as a helicopter pilot during the Gulf War. While on active duty, he flew CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters and rose to the rank of major before leaving the service. He later worked as a flight-test engineer for Lockheed Martin and Douglas Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas, before earning his professional pilot certification. He flew for Atlantic Southeast Airlines for seven years before he was hired by Gulfstream as a test pilot in 2006.
Reece Ollenburg, 48, a technical specialist in the Gulfstream G650 program, earned a degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University in 1986. Following his graduation, he worked for McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach, Calif. Ollenburg also served stints with Lockheed Martin, Bombardier and Lockheed before joining Gulfstream in 2009.
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People in Aviation: May 2011

Airborne communications and flight following provider Guardian Mobility has appointed Howard Pearl president and CEO.

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