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

Bell Training Academy (BTA) has now racked up more than 240,000 flight hours since it began operations in 1946, Bell Textron announced this week at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK. As it celebrates its 80th anniversary year, BTA continues to strengthen its position as a provider of pilot and maintenance technician training, supporting growing demand from operators across Europe.
Last year the facility provided instruction to more than 2,000 pilots, part of Bell’s overall 140,000 pilots trained worldwide. Its former military pilot instructors also logged 2,600 flight hours in BTA-owned aircraft last year, reinforcing the academy’s hands-on training.
Through training facilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, the OEM offers flexible, accessible programs through its global training network, providing experiences supported by skilled instructors and modern technology.
The manufacturer’s lead training facility in Europe—BTA Valencia in Spain—provides easy access to instruction for operators across the continent. The team in Valencia offers a variety of commercial and parapublic training. Like all BTA locations, its programs include classroom instruction, 3-D courseware, simulators, full touchdown autorotations, and hands-on training that reflects real-world missions and evolving operator needs.

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In its 80th Anniversary, Bell Training Academy Sees New Flight Hour Peak

The company offers training in the U.S., Spain, and Singapore

Bell Training Academy has tallied nearly a quarter of a million flight training hours among its three facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.


Bell Training Academy Reaches New Flight Hour Peak

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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Farnborough Airshow 2026

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Bell

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