Matt Thurber
Editor-in-Chief
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&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.
Latest from Matt Thurber
FBOs
Universal offers integrated tankering solution
Universal Weather & Aviation has added integrated fuel tankering calculations to its UVflightplanner.com system.
FBOs
Nice Airports get Bizav upgrades
France’s Nice Cote d’Azur Airport now has a consolidated general aviation terminal (GAT) housing three FBOs: Swissport Executive Aviation (a joint venture
FBOs
Air Rutter adopts Jetflite as new name
Charter/management operator Air Rutter International has changed its name to JetFlite International and added a new operating base at Republic Airport in F
FBOs
Avfuel adds handling services
Fuel distributor Avfuel now offers international flight planning and ground handling through its Avplan subsidiary.
FBOs
Cutter sells Dallas exec FBO
Cutter Aviation last month finalized a plan to consolidate its Dallas-area operations at its growing North Dallas location at Collin County Regional Airpor
FBOs
Harrods sold to Qatar Holdings
The Harrods Aviation FBOs at London Luton and Stansted airports, as well as helicopter charter operator Air Harrods, have been sold as part of a $2.2 billi
FBOs
New FBO under construction at Florida’s Page Field
A groundbreaking ceremony was held last month for a 46,000-sq-ft general aviation complex at Page Field in Fort Myers, Fla.
Aircraft
In the Works: June 2010
Gulfstream – G650Test pilot John O’Meara and senior experimental test pilot Tom Horne flew Gulfstream’s G650 proto- type to its top operating
Avionics
Jepp takes new approach with SolidFX reader
Pilots now have many choices for viewing approach plates, arrival and departure charts and airport diagrams in the cockpit, from traditional paper to elect
EBACE 2010: Event boosts hopes for coming recovery
An uneasy pall has settled over the aviation industry.
FAA Crackdown: Is Agency a Friend or Foe?
In AIN’s upcoming June issue, we raise the question of whether new FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is cracking down extra hard on the aviation indus
Maintenance and Modifications
Flabob High School Students Build Jet Engine
Anthony Mosallam and Jonathon Deming, students at the Flabob Airport Preparatory Academy in Riverside, Calif., designed and built a turbine engine for thei
Maintenance and Modifications
U.S. Civil Aviation Mx Has $39 Billion Impact
According to a study conducted by research firm AeroStrategy, the aviation maintenance industry in the U.S.
Maintenance and Modifications
Engine Damage Not Caused by Volcanic Ash
Dramatic photos circulating on the Internet purporting to show a Williams International FJ44-3A-24 installed on a Cessna Citation CJ2+ destroyed by exposur
Maintenance and Modifications
Iceland Eruption Has Different Effect on Windows
While pilots need to be careful not to fly through heavy concentrations of volcanic ash from the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano in Iceland, the glass particle-la
Maintenance and Modifications
Honeywell To See Volcano Effects First-hand
Engineers at Honeywell’s Phoenix engine division have received two TPE331-5 turboprops removed from a Dornier Do-228 operated by the UK’s National Environm
Training and Workforce
Calif. Legislation Could Cost Flight Training Providers
Assembly Bill 48, passed last year by the state of California, eliminates a long-standing flight training facility exemption from authorizing legislation f
Charter & Fractional
NetJets Still Aiming at Profitable Operations
Berkshire Hathaway’s most recent quarterly financial report notes that revenues at its NetJets subsidiary grew by 18 percent compared with the first quarte
Environment
Chevron Global To Stop Marketing Fuel in 27 States
Chevron Global Aviation, which operates five oil refineries, “will withdraw from marketing Chevron- and Texaco-branded aviation fuels in 27 states [approxi
Accidents
Preliminary Report: MU-2 sheds gear in runway excursion
Mitsubishi MU-2B-60, Amarillo, Texas, Feb.
FBOs
Hiller Group buys Air Petro
On May 1, Chevron fuel distributor Hiller Group finalized its purchase of Air Petro, a Chevron-branded distributor in the western U.S.
FBOs
Oakland FBO adds hangar space
Business Jet Center at Oakland International Airport in Northern California has expanded its hangar space to more than 100,000 sq ft with the addition of a
FBOs
Argus International launches Prism Solutions Division
Argus International has hired William Yantiss to lead a new division called Prism Solutions (professional resources in system management).
FBOs
Reno-Tahoe seeks proposals for new FBO facilities
Two FBOs at Reno-Tahoe International Airport are not going to renew their upcoming leases, and the airport has released a request for proposals (RFP) for a
FBOs
FltPlan.com offering APG runway analysis
Flight planning Web site FltPlan.com is now offering runway analysis services by Aircraft Performance Group (AP
FBOs
Heritage celebrating grand opening in Vermont
Heritage Aviation is celebrating the opening of its new 79,000-sq-ft FBO at Burlington International Airport in Vermont on May 20.
Airports
Rifle airport closed for runway, taxiway reconstruction
Garfield County Regional Airport in Rifle, Colo., is closed for seven months
for runway and taxiway construction. The closure applies to fixed-
FBOs
Tac Air displays new design standards
Tac Air held an open house at its Raleigh-Durham International Airport FBO on April 7 to showcase its new interior design standards, which will be rolled o
Regulations and Government
Senate bill: Bye-bye fuel fraud tax
The recently passed Senate FAA reauthorization bill eliminates the so-called fuel fraud tax that has been causing major annoyance and expense for U.S.
