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

Florida FBO and MRO provider PrivateSky Aviation has filed a lawsuit against its Southwest Florida International Airport landlord, the Lee County Port Authority (LCPA), alleging the agency has used government grants improperly to fund the construction of a competing FBO at nearby Page Field, a general aviation airport also operated by the LCPA. The LCPA has operated an FBO at the Fort Myers airport since 1996, and its new, $16 million Page Field Aviation Center is scheduled to open late next week. According to PrivateSky chairman and CEO Vincent Wolanin, the grant money–<a href="http://flylcpa.com/uploads/pagesfiles/767.pdf">listed</a> by the LCPA as a $169,380 FAA grant and $7.83 million from the Florida DOT–will allow the new FBO to operate with little to no debt service on the construction and enable it to set its prices accordingly. Wolanin believes that advantage, coupled with the revenue percentage that PrivateSky must pay LCPA according to its contract, will allow the new LCPA-operated facility to undercut his prices at RSW. Due to the pending litigation, LCPA would not comment. The case has attracted the attention of NATA, which stated that it is concerned about the rising trend of local government landlords using federal and state grant funding to subsidize competition with existing tenants.

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

PrivateSky Sues Landlord, Claiming Unfair Competition

Florida FBO and MRO provider PrivateSky Aviation has filed a lawsuit against its Southwest Florida International Airport landlord, the Lee County Port Auth

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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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