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

Enstrom Helicopter is unveiling two new trim levels—Elite and Signature—for its flagship 480B turbine-single helicopter this week at Verticon. Both versions include upgraded avionics with digital displays.
At the top of the line is the 480B Elite, which comes in a range of eye-catching paint schemes designed by famed airbrush artist Dean Loucks, featuring bold, clean patterns. Matching interior trims will be included to complement the exterior colors.
On the inside, the Elite will offer an all-glass instrument panel with the Garmin G500H TXi touchscreen display, GTN750 touchscreen GPS navcom (or optional GTN650), ADS-B In/Out, Genesis three-axis autopilot, and air conditioning.
“This is the option for personal owners who want all the accoutrements,” said Charles Wade, the airframer’s s-v-p of product, sales, and customer excellence. “These are the pilots who enjoy the attention—whose desire is to show up in style wherever they travel, whether that be in their car, boat, coach, or airplane.”
Below that, the 480B Signature will include comparable avionics, but autopilot and air conditioning will be available as options.
The OEM noted its goal to provide helicopters to the customer’s exact specification and added that the standard legacy 480B will still be available in its product lineup for those who are just looking for the base model or have a preference for analog instrument displays.
Wade, who has more than four decades of industry experience, recently joined the Michigan-based company, having served the past 24 years with Collins Aerospace, finishing as avionics market manager/director. “I was looking to join a small aerospace company, and I was familiar with the Enstrom brand,” said Wade. “I saw great potential to reinvigorate the market on a proven product.”

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