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

While pilots using Chicago Waukegan Airport await news of when the airport’s 6,000-foot Runway 5/23 might be extended to 7,000 feet–a more comfortable length for jet operations–interagency conflicts could ultimately lead to a reduction of the runway’s usable length. 
According to <a href="http://www.cfmediaview.com/lp1.aspx?v=8_63294188_1761_18&amp;mv=@">Waukegan Port District executive director Duncan Henderson</a>, the FAA has said it does not have the money to meet the Lake County Forest Preserve District’s price demands for the land onto which the runway would be extended. “The necessary land is part of the Waukegan Savanna, and the Forest Preserve District wants about $100,000 per acre,” said Henderson. “That brings the total cost of the runway extension, including a widening of nearby Green Bay Road, to about $140 million.” 
The road upgrade also brings the Illinois Highway Department into the negotiations. “If we can’t afford to purchase the land and the highway is widened anyway,” Henderson said, “that will require the FAA to apply standard runway safety area [RSA] criteria to the existing runway, which has no safety areas at present. That, in turn, would mean shortening the usable length of the current pavement to approximately 4,300 feet.” Waukegan, home base to 55 private jets, is one of only 84 business aviation airports that fall into the FAA’s new national GA airport category.

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Chicago Airport May Shorten Runway

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Richard Pedicini

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Event size has doubled while hangars are added at a hurried pace

Catarina Aviation Show Grows Alongside Its Host Airport

Matt Thurber

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

The project will add holding, parking, and deicing areas to what is now Taxiway H

Chicago Midway Decommissioning Closed Runway 13L-31R

Charles Alcock

Test operations could begin in Rome during 2026

UrbanV Partners With eVTOL Operator FFG to Develop Vertiport Network

Amy Wilder

Transfer times could reach up to three hours

Cabo Airport Access Slowed by Road Project

Kerry Lynch

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

Congress issues $3.5 million annually for businesses harmed by certain presidential restrictions

Lawmakers Call on FAA To Pave Way for TFR Reimbursements

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Airport disruption appears to have been more serious in Portugal than Spain

Bizav Avoids the Worst of Power Cuts in Spain and Portugal

FAA made several updates to its AIP grant assurances, including on DEI as well as avgas

FAA Calls for Continued Avgas in AIP Grant Assurances

Hanneke Weitering

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

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