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.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

Textron Aviation has delivered the first of its Cessna SkyCouriers to launch customer FedEx Express. The utility aircraft handed over today represents the lead ship in a 50-unit order from&nbsp;FedEx, which also has options for 50 more.

 


Fedex played a role in the development of the aircraft with members of its design and engineering staff serving on Textron Aviation’s customer advisory board, helping to establish the twin turboprop’s design, features, and serviceability. The high-wing airplane is designed to carry a payload of up to 6,000 pounds with an 87-inch cargo door, a flat floor, and a nearly 70-inch tall and wide cabin to accept three standard LD3 air cargo containers.

 


“The result of four and a half years of collaboration with Textron Aviation on this aircraft, FedEx is excited to add the Cessna 408 SkyCourier as part of our fleet modernization program,” said Scot Struminger, the air cargo provider’s executive v-p of aviation, adding this will help it better serve small and medium markets. “The SkyCourier will make us more efficient, now being able to move containerized and palletized freight for our customers.”

 


The clean-sheet&nbsp;aircraft, which is powered by a pair of Pratt &amp; Whitney Canada PT6A-65SC engines and has a 900-nm range, received its <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-03-14/cessna-skycourier-receives-faa-type-certification">FAA type certification</a> in March. FedEx's first&nbsp;SkyCourier&nbsp;was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2022-02-04/textron-aviation-rolls-out-first-production-skycourier">rolled out </a>in February.

 


Now that it has entered service, Textron Aviation president and CEO Ron Draper expects the order book for it to lengthen. “We believe many other air freight, passenger, and special mission operators also will benefit from the winning combination of low operating costs and unparalleled lift capacity that the new SkyCourier brings to market,” he said.

Textron Aviation Delivers First SkyCourier

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