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

Universal Weather &amp; Aviation has expanded its European emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS) portal to provide better access for operators looking to purchase carbon credits. “For business aviation operators, Phase III of EU-ETS will be the first time they’ve been required to participate in the carbon market,” said Adam Hartley, Universal’s supervisor of global regulatory services. To minimize confusion on the part of customers, the company has selected CFP Energy to serve as a carbon brokerage, and extended its 24/7 support and assistance with ETS monitoring and reporting requirements.


Although the U.S. government has initiated legislation that may eventually circumvent the need for U.S. operators to comply with European regulations, Hartley emphasizes that operators should still plan to abide by them: “Until legislation that would supersede EU-ETS develops, operators must continue to comply with the regulation by submitting a verified annual emissions report and surrendering the appropriate number of carbon credits to their member states ahead of posted deadlines.”


At the NBAA Convention, the flight services provider announced that it has released an updated version of its free iPad Universal Ops Brief application, which allows for the notification, viewing, navigation, downloading and management of operational briefing packages from the company’s trip support services and/or its UVflightplanner.com flight-planning system. New features in the 2.0 version include e-mail forwarding using the default iPad e-mail client, printing of briefings from within the app using Apple AirPrint, and ancillary document management. Users can also open or upload operational briefing packages within other PDF-compatible iPad apps and services. The app can be downloaded from the Apple app store or through iTunes.


Through UVflightplanner.com, customers can now instantly receive Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU)-approved routing options from Eurocontrol, quickly conform their flight-planning format to ICAO 2012 requirements via an automated wizard, and calculate a high-level risk assessment. “These enhancements to UVflightplanner.com were created with efficiency in mind by eliminating manual processes such as having to make multiple calls to Eurocontrol for assistance when a flight plan has a failed route, filling in by hand the tedious forms for complying with ICAO 2012 requirements, or exiting their flight planning software to complete a flight risk assessment tool (FRAT),” said Marcus Walker, product manager.

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.

Universal Weather & Aviation Expands European emissions trading scheme

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Kerry Lynch

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.

Both NBAA and AOPA stressed importance of privacy on Capitol Hill

GA Groups Step Up Privacy Push for Operators

President Trump directed the removal of Brown from the board in May

Former NTSB Vice Chair Brown Sues for Reinstatement

Acquisition will enable MySky to offer state tax information alongside federal information

MySky Acquiring State Tax Guide from JSSI

Amy Wilder

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Industry group praises prioritizing safety and workforce support

AIA Endorses FAA Funding in FY2026 Proposal

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

Department of Commerce taking comments through June 3

NBAA Urges Members To Stress Trade Importance To Gov’t

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

Rep. Nadler has co-sponsored a half-dozen bills in recent years to curb helo ops

U.S. Lawmakers Seek To Bar Helicopters in New York City

FAA told to ‘hire, hire, hire’ in its safety workforce

FAA Official: ‘Don't Over-engineer’ SMS

Charles Alcock

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

NBAA Convention News 2012

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