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

The U.S. Army and the Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT) have signed an agreement on a new 50-year lease at Kawaihāpai Airfield (PHDH)—formerly Dillingham Airfield—located on Oahu's north shore.&nbsp;While the field is owned and operated by the Army and used for military training, the vast majority of its traffic is general aviation and is served by FBO <meta charset="UTF-8">North Shore Aviation Services.
HDOT noted that PHDH is leased for civilian recreational purposes and it is home to businesses catering to visitors and local patrons, providing glider flying, free-fall parachuting, sightseeing, and occasional trips to neighboring islands.
The fate of the airfield, with its 9,000-foot runway, had been <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-09-24/hawaii-dot-defer-dillingham-airfield-closure">in question</a> for the past decade before the deal was finalized last month. Maintenance and management of its degraded water system had been a specific bone of contention.
According to HDOT director Ed Sniffen, the process involved a wide range of stakeholders—elected officials, the Army Garrison Hawaii, the Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District, and local businesses—and ended a decade of negotiations. While local Army commanders are typically empowered to negotiate short-term leases, the 50-year length of this lease was an unusual situation that required approval from Army headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The renewed lease will also make PHDH eligible to receive federal grants to address infrastructure needs.

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

After Decade of Negotiations, Hawaii's Kawaihāpai Airfield Gets New Lease

Army-owned Kawaihāpai Airfield is located on the northern coast of Oahu

After a decade of negotiations, the U.S. Army has granted a 50-year lease to Kawaihāpai Airfield in Hawaii.

Hawaii's Kawaihāpai Airfield Gets New Half-century Lease

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News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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