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

Wisconsin Aviation is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The company, which now operates MRO/FBOs at three airports in the Badger State, made its debut at Watertown Municipal Airport (KRYV). “I started this in 1981, when interest rates were 21%,” said company president and CEO Jeff Baum. “The economy had fallen off the cliff—of course, we didn’t know that because we didn’t have CNN, let alone the internet—and two weeks later, President Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers. So, it was a great time to start an FBO!”
Despite that rocky beginning, Baum grew the business,&nbsp;which also provides aircraft management, charter, and flight instruction.&nbsp;The company became the lone service provider at Dodge County Airport in Juneau (KUNU) two years later, and added a facility at Dane County Regional Airport-Truax Field (KMSN)—serving the state capital of Madison—in 1994.
Combined, the three facilities offer 170,000 sq ft of hangars. At KMSN, Wisconsin Aviation’s largest maintenance facility has 12,000 sq ft of dedicated maintenance space, an 8,000-sq-ft FAA Part 145 avionics shop, and 1,600 sq ft of offices and labs. Watertown has an 8,000-sq-ft maintenance hangar, a 1,200-sq-ft interiors shop, and 1,600 sq ft of offices. Dodge County—the smallest of the three—has a 4,800-sq-ft maintenance shop. “These are just the maintenance facilities; we use spillover hangars also,” Baum told AIN, adding that all three of the locations work together for the end result of satisfying the customer.
With a maintenance backlog extending out more than two months, he noted the shops are always full. At Madison and Watertown, that equates to about eight airplanes each, while at Juneau, there are usually three under maintenance at a time.
“There’s always others in the other hangars waiting for parts to come in or owner approvals or whatever the case might be,” said Baum. “It’s just nonstop. Being the sole provider of services at three FBOs, you can imagine the number of AOG aircraft and aircraft that have problems.” At KMSN, the company also provides 24/7 on-call support for the airlines, a sector that is seeing continued growth.
A high point in the year is the annual EAA AirVenture show in nearby Oshkosh. It provides a surge in activity, with as many as 1,000 aircraft stopping at its locations, some of them staying longer than expected due to mechanical problems.
While it prefers to work on aircraft at its facilities, the company will occasionally respond to situations at nearby airports. “Do we go off field, yes, but we don’t advertise that,” Baum explained. “That’s not our core business to run out to other airports, but if anybody has a problem, we can try to help them.”
The company is a Textron Aviation authorized service center for the OEM’s pistons and turboprops, as well as a large maintenance center for Cirrus Aircraft’s SR-series piston-engined airplanes. With a managed fleet of 14 airplanes ranging from a Piper Seneca up to a Cessna Citation 560, the company—which expects to receive its FAA Part 145 repair station authorization later this year—will work on anything up to midsize jets. Wisconsin Aviation has operated Citations in its fleet for nearly 30 years, and Paul Boucher, the company’s v-p of technical services/head of maintenance, was previously responsible for the operation of four Citation service centers. It can perform annual inspections or anything else, short of engine overhauls, which it will farm out to a specialist.
Among its operations at the three locations, Wisconsin Aviation’s staff tallies around 180, with two-thirds based at Madison. The company runs one long maintenance shift, with work starting around 5 a.m. and running to late afternoon.
Baum describes the technician labor market as extremely tight, but “improving slightly.” To bolster its talent pipeline, the company strives to have one or two apprentice trainees per location at all times. “In Madison, some of the people that we have started on our line have migrated into maintenance, much to the dismay of our line department,” he said.
While the work is steady year-round, Wisconsin’s harsh winters tend to place a damper on flight operations in the region. “You have to know that the airports are open, you have to know that the runways are not contaminated for jet aircraft, because it poses a significant safety issue,” Baum explained. “It’s a hardship; people don’t want to go out and pre-flight their aircraft when it’s 10 degrees below zero.”
Wisconsin Aviation has had expansion plans in the works for the Madison facility since before the Covid pandemic, and Baum is presently in negotiations with the airport on a lease renewal. “We have another very large hangar that’s under design right now, and the rehabilitation of another major hangar,” he said. “We need that lease extension to make sure we can amortize a multimillion-dollar expansion.”

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

MRO Profile: Wisconsin Aviation, 45 Years and Counting

The company is one of the largest aviation service providers in the state

Wisconsin Aviation has grown to three locations in the Badger State since its founding 45 years ago.

MRO Profile: Wisconsin Aviation: 45 Years and Counting

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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

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.

More staff added at enlarged maintenance complex in Kuala Lumpur

ExecuJet MRO Boosts Bizav Support in Malaysia

Kerry Lynch

Straight Flight will offer services to HondaJets based in the Rocky Mountain region

Straight Flight Joins HondaJet-authorized Center Network

The move doubled its available hangar and office space

Oklahoma MRO Expands with New Large Hangar Lease

Matt Thurber

Company expands into full-service completions, refurbishment, and maintenance provider

Citadel Completions Expands, Rebrands as Citadel Aviation

Winner of the first award is 27-year employee Paul Schmidt

Elliott Aviation Marks 90 Years with Founder’s Award

Amy Wilder

New model responds to parts market shifts

Duncan Aviation Revises Component Repair Pricing

Composite propellers provide a quieter cabin and less exterior noise

Blackhawk STCs 5-blade Prop on XP67 Engine+ Upgrade

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

More In Maintenance and Modifications