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

After five years of negotiations, Corporate Air—one of two full-service FBOs at Florida’s Vero Beach Regional Airport (KVRB)—will break ground next week on a U.S. Customs facility. The $3 million, 3,800-sq-ft structure will be built to CBP specifications and located adjacent to the Corporate Air facility on the west side of the airfield.&nbsp;
Construction is expected to take approximately a year and once the user-fee-based facility opens early in 2024, KVRB, which has never previously had customs clearance service, will be able to change its name to Vero Beach International Airport.
“We did a feasibility study based on other towns that have offered the same facility such as Stuart and Boca [Raton],” said Rodger Pridgeon, Corporate Air’s founder, president, and manager. “The feasibility study is pretty much the same in all three places—it boosted the revenue about 30 percent, so this is a big deal for us.” He told AIN that his based customers are particularly eager to welcome the new clearance station, especially large aircraft owners that thus far have needed to stop at an international arrivals airport and put another takeoff and landing cycle&nbsp;on their aircraft.

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Vero Beach FBO To Add U.S. Customs Facility

Corporate Air, an FBO at Florida's Vero Beach Regional Airport, will break ground on a dedicated U.S. Customs facility.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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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