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

Aviation maintenance training provider Air Academy has received EASA approval to offer Part 66 training and examinations. Part 66 certification is an internationally recognized standard to ensure the highest levels of competence and compliance for aviation technicians.
“This approval not only validates the quality and integrity of our training programs, but it also enables us to contribute directly to the development of highly skilled professionals within the global aviation maintenance community,” said company CEO Armel Jezequel.
Already designated as a Part 147 training facility, the Vallair Group company can now deliver instruction and assessments across multiple categories.
“Under Part 66, our training will include categories such as Category B1 (mechanical) and Category B2 (avionics), among others,” explained Jezequel. “The training programs are designed to meet the evolving needs of the aviation industry and support both aspiring and current [maintenance technicians] in attaining their professional goals.”
He added that the company offers “the full package” from ab initio training to aircraft type modules, along with EASA-approved FAA Part 145 on-the-job training at Vallair’s MRO hangars in Châteauroux and Montpellier in France.
“We are experiencing huge demand from all over the world for aircraft mechanic training,” Jezequel noted. “Students from as far away as the Philippines and India are joining their European colleagues of all ages to attain qualifications or upskill to new aircraft/engine types.”

News about simulators and training procedures, as well as workforce.

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News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

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.

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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Essential news and analysis on the defense aerospace business. Your trusted source for new and ongoing programs and requirements in military aircraft (manned and unmanned), engines, avionics, weapons and associated systems, including ground-based air defense.

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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

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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.

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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.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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