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

The owner of Florida-based flight school Beach Aviation has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a list of charges that include operating an aircraft without an airman’s certificate, wire fraud, and falsification of records. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, Robert Charles Jones Brady received payment for numerous charter flights and flight instruction services after all of his FAA certificates were revoked in 2016. The investigation showed that he used a fleet of aircraft, including business jets, to defraud the government, airmen, and the flying public.

 


The complaints noted he fraudulently endorsed student pilot logbooks and directed his employees to do the same despite the fact that he and many of his flight instructors were not CFIs. He also hired unqualified foreign nationals to act as CFIs and as a result of those actions, many of the company’s student pilots found their training hours disallowed by the FAA.

 


The case also revealed that Brady advertised domestic and international charter flights even though his Boca Raton company did not have FAA authorization to do so. Agents listed more than 700 paid charter flights to and from South Florida, the Bahamas, and other locations by the company. On many of those flights, Brady piloted aircraft he was not certified to fly. A sentencing hearing is set for May 16.

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.

Florida Flight School Owner Pleads Guilty on Fraud Charges

Improperly endorsing student flight logs, operating illegal charters, and flying without proper authorization were some of the allegations he faced. 

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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.

Operators can expect to pay special event fees at all three of the city's airports

Vegas Grand Prix To Again Spawn Special Event Fees

Gordon Gilbert

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.

EES was to have rolled out on November 10

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Jessica Reed

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.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

New Zealand-based Patterson Distributors developed the cockpit video, audio, and flight data recorder

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Kerry Lynch

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Bizav Groups Push for Mx Tax Exemption in Virginia

Sarah Rose

Hurricane has caused billions in damages

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Chad Trautvetter

While Mexican cabotage rules were eased, entry permits became more complicated

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At stake is a $22 billion budget for the FAA in fiscal year 2025

Bill Clears Congress To Keep U.S. Government Open through Dec. 20

Mark Huber

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

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