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.

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Curt Epstein

On the eve of the start of Heli-Expo 2016 in Louisville, Helicopter Association International president Matt Zuccaro remains bullish about the status of the industry, despite the definite headwinds faced by some sectors.

 


“One thing I think we all realize and acknowledge is the offshore industry right now is not performing the way we would like it to,” Zuccaro told AIN on Sunday at the Kentucky Exposition Center, noting the recent slump in rotorcraft usage and postponed orders due to depressed energy prices. “I’ve been doing this long enough that in effect this has happened previously and the good news to this story is we’ve always recovered and come back stronger.”

 


While that specific segment has encountered a sustained slowdown, Zuccaro noted increases in sectors such as air medical and air tours among others, which have helped buoy the industry somewhat on the aggregate and allowed operators to seek new opportunities. “They’ve moved into other areas of business in order to keep those aircraft active and to keep their personnel employed, flying and maintaining,” he said. “They’re doing what we do best; we’re survivors and we take advantage of the versatility of the aircraft to do other missions while waiting for their main segments to recover.”

 


<h3>Government Issues</h3>

 


With regards to the current debate on FAA reauthorization and user fees, Zuccaro has strong views on the prospect of the air traffic control system being placed in the hands of an airline-dominated corporation and how the funding for the whole industry might be affected. “A classic example of this is there’s funds that we’re able to get from the federal government to do such wonderful projects such as NextGen and the ADS-B system in the Gulf of Mexico,” Zuccaro noted. “Does anyone really think that the scheduled airlines are going to allocate money for a project like that for helicopters?” Like many opposed to the proposed plan, he believes that if something is not broke, why fix it? “I find it quite odd that the air traffic control system is acknowledged by everybody no matter who you ask as the safest and most efficient in the world,” he said. “If that’s the case then why are we doing this?

 


“I’m very comfortable with the fact that I can [today] go to Congress and go to the FAA and have a conversation with them about the concerns of the helicopter industry and I know that I am talking to an impartial person with no conflict of interest.”

 


New this year, HAI, in partnership with ICAO has introduced a new IS-BAO-based voluntary safety accreditation program for rotorcraft operators. “On top of that foundation, HAI itself developed individual mission-specific standards,” added Zuccaro, who said they will eventually address all the types of missions the association’s members perform. Since its launch at the beginning of the year, four of the association’s members have certified and will be formally recognized here at the show, while others are currently in the audit process. “It’s been accepted initially, which we’re thrilled with, and we hope it raises the standard of safety within the industry,” said Zuccaro, adding that the association does not view the standard as a new revenue source. Rather, it is administering it at cost. “That is our sole purpose as an aggregate program.”

 


<h2>Heli-Expo Lands in Louisville</h2>

 


Heli-Expo has grown significantly over the past seven years, according to Matt Zuccaro, becoming too big for at least two popular locations, and it threatens to outgrow others in the coming years, thus leading HAI to search for new alternatives. The HAI president had nothing but praise for the Louisville venue and the city leaders’ eagerness to work with the association to conduct a successful show. “When we go to cities one of the elements that we look for is what’s the partnership relationship, how much is the city going to support us and our attendees and exhibitors,” Zuccaro said. “The level that we’ve received in the venue here has been phenomenal, one of the best I’ve ever experienced.” Among the appreciated efforts from the Kentucky Exposition Center was the construction of a fully-approved permanent heliport behind the center, which was used to land the 55 rotorcraft on display here in this year’s show.

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