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

Bell Helicopter has delivered the first of its products to serve as a aeromedical transport in China, to operator Reignwood Aviation, one of the country’s largest helicopter operators, the company announced at ABACE, held this week in Shanghai.


The HEMS-equipped Bell 429 was outfitted by Air Methods subsidiary United Rotorcraft and includes a machined aluminum floor, additional medical crew seating configurations, equipment for patient care, and is outfitted with a rescue hoist and other program-specific support equipment.


“This delivery and Civil Aviation Authority of China validation for the medical interior represents a two-year effort to bring our product into China,” noted Frank Graham, United Rotorcraft’s senior director of global sales and marketing. “We are confident this will be the first of many opportunities in China available to us because of our product’s CAAC validation.”


The light-twin turbine 429 serves segments such as law enforcement, utility, oil and gas, and corporate transport. in addition to air medical.


“We are proud to partner with United Rotorcraft to deliver the first HEMS Bell 429 to our friends at Reignwood,” said Patrick Moulay, the airframer’s executive vice president for commercial sales and marketing. “There is a critical need for HEMS in China and we are honored Reignwood has selected the Bell 429 to assist in life-saving missions.”

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

Bell Delivers Its First Chinese HEMS Helicopter

Operator Reignwood Aviation accepted the Bell 429, which was equipped with a CAAC validated med-evac interior by United Rotorcraft

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

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.

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New developments and products in avionics, specifically about aircraft electronics in the cockpit.

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.

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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.

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Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

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