Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Visitors to southern California’s Santa Monica Airport (SMO) have a last chance to sample the delicacies at the airport’s Typhoon restaurant, as the 25-year-old eatery is closing on November 8. According to a note sent by the owners, “The City of Santa Monica has nearly tripled our rent and made business conditions so difficult that it has become impossible to carry on without incurring financial ruin.”

 


The city of Santa Monica has made clear its intent to close SMO as soon as it can, and on September 15 sent <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2016-09-19/city-santa-monica-fbos-you-have-30-days-vacate">30-day eviction notices</a> to the airport’s two FBOs, American Flyers and Atlantic Aviation. Until it can close the airport, the city intends to run FBO services itself.&nbsp;

 


The note from the Typhoon’s owners went on: “Despite the lawsuits currently in motion between the city and the FAA, there appears to be little hope of a reprieve from the city’s anti-airport master plan, which seems determined to shut down every business at SMO so that the property can be repurposed as a giant investment opportunity for developers.

 


“In some quarters, this sort of activity would be seen as a deplorable abuse of municipal power, but in Santa Monica, it is becoming business as usual. It’s just too exhausting and disheartening to continue to throw good money after bad into this never ending shellgame of political brinksmanship.”

 


Until the restaurant closes, the Typhoon is hosting a month-long “end of the world party” capped by an election night closing event on November 8. “We hope that these final days of Typhoon will live up to the very best days of Typhoon, and that when it’s all over, our shared memories of Typhoon will live on in all our hearts as a beloved, unforgettable, fantastic dream of how good life can be,” the note concluded.

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