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

Classic Lear Jet Foundation (CLJF), the Wichita-based volunteer group that is working to <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-09-05/bringing-lear-003-back-flight">restore Lear 23-003</a>—the first production Learjet—to flight status, is nearing the complete gutting of the aircraft in preparation for non-destructive testing on its 61-year-old airframe.
Made up of current and former aerospace workers, including some who actually worked on the Learjet production line, the group has thus far spent more than 750 man-hours on the aircraft since it was moved into a work bay at Bombardier’s Wichita facility in October.
During that time, the cockpit and cabin were gutted with the removal of all wiring, flight control cables, plumbing, and ducting, and the fuel bladders were taken from the aft fuselage. The fuel pumps and other equipment were detached from the wings for overhaul, along with the landing gear.
According to group spokesman Rick Rowe, dry ice blasting began last week to remove foam insulation from the fuselage interior. After that is completed, work to strip paint from all the major assemblies will commence, clearing the way for non-destructive testing.
Last month, as a fundraiser for the restoration, Florida-based aeromedical services provider Global Jetcare completed a Polar Circumnavigation of the globe using one of its Learjet 36As flown by a crew of four, including the company’s president and CLJF v-p Bart Gray.

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Since October, the group has spent 750 hours on the effort

Since October, the group planning to restore the first production Learjet to flight status has made progress on preparing its fuselage for in-depth testing.

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2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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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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