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

Canadian flight-training provider Pacific Sky Aviation has earned certification for its Twin Otter training facility in Calgary from China’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAC).

 


The announcement, made this week at the Farnborough Air Show, comes after an extensive audit of Pacific Sky’s facility, curricula, Twin Otter training programs, equipment, and instructor qualifications. Based on the approval, the company now offers authorized type rating training in initial, recurrent, differences, upgrade, re-qualification, and proficiency checks, and can begin initial training courses for Chinese crews this month.

 


“Within our first year of operation of the Twin Otter Training Centre, we have achieved Transport Canada and EASA approvals of our Level D full-flight simulator and have been training customers from around the world,” said Pacific Sky CEO Michael Coughlin, adding his team is prepared to welcome the first Chinese crews. “The approval of the Twin Otter Training Centre by the CAAC is the final milestone in our efforts to provide type training for Chinese pilots and follows the CAAC technical approval of the Level D simulator we achieved in February.”

 


David Curtis, president of Viking Air, which reintroduced the turboprop twin in 2010, said the demand for the aircraft in China is “infinite,” particularly with respect to seaplanes. “With the help of Pacific Sky’s Twin Otter Series 400 training program, Level D simulator with seaplane capability, and now receipt of the CAAC Flight Training Centre certificate, we’re confident we’ll be able to meet the flight training demand for the emerging Chinese market,” he explained.

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