Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Around the beginning of this decade, a flurry of acquisitions of general aviation companies took place. In almost every case, U.S. or European investors were reluctant to step up and compete to buy these GA manufacturing assets. In only two cases did Western investors buy a GA manufacturer: MetalCraft acquired the SJ30 jet program in 2011, after its Middle East owner Emivest Aerospace declared bankruptcy; and Textron bought Hawker Beechcraft in 2014, after a Chinese company had submitted a bid for the bankrupt U.S. airframer.


The list of formerly U.S. GA companies now owned by foreign enterprises is surprisingly large. Clearly non-Western investors possess a greater appreciation for the long-term opportunities in GA manufacturing, a fact that is surprising considering that GA is such a tiny part of these countries’ industrial activities.

GA Manufacturers Expand Their Global Footprint

The number of general aviation manufacturers owned by non-U.S. investors is surprisingly large.

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