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
Avionics
Esterline ADS-B Annunciators Released
New 389 series LED cockpit annunciators are designed for ADS-B installations.
Avionics
Gogo Business Aviation Achieves 4G STC
Gogo Business Aviation's Challenger 600 was used to certify the the 4G system installation in a business jet.
Rotorcraft
Concorde Battery Celebrates 40th Anniversary
The battery manufacturer recently opened a new plant in Austell, Georgia.
Rotorcraft
Leonardo TeamUp Brings Support and Training Together
The new TeamUp brand unifies Leonardo's customer support and training efforts.
Avionics
Universal Avionics Completes InSight System Engineering
The Universal Avionics InSight flight deck will help upgrade aircraft meet modern avionics mandates.
Rotorcraft
Astronautics, Jagid Team on Portable SmartCopter System
The portable ISR system weighs about 80 pounds and can be installed in helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes.
Rotorcraft
Bell Delivers First 505 Jet Ranger X at Heli-Expo 2017
The buyer of the first customer-delivered Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is Scott Urschel, owner of Pylon Aviation, Chandler, Arizona.
Rotorcraft
Genesys Wins Flight Deck Upgrade for MD Explorer
Genesys Aerosystems is demonstrating its helicopter flight deck equipped with four IDU-680 displays.
Rotorcraft
Innovative Bell Shows Radical Rotorcraft
Bell's new FCX-001 concept helicopter offers a glimpse into future rotorcraft technologies.
Rotorcraft
Bell 525 Prepping To Resume Flight Testing
Bell Helicopter XworX engineers are forging ahead on testing of Bell 525 systems in preparation for the resumption of flight testing.
Rotorcraft
CMC Introduces CMA-6024 GNSS for Helicopters
CMC is offering demonstrations of its new helicopter cockpit demonstrator at Heli-Expo 2017.
Rotorcraft
Airbus Continues Product Support Improvements
Airbus Helicopters customers are benefitting from the company's switch to an electronic business model.
Rotorcraft
Gill Issued PMA for Bell 407 Sealed Lead-acid Battery
The Redlands, Calif., battery manufacturer's sealed lead-acid battery has been selected as standard equipment for the Bell 407 GXP.
Rotorcraft
HeliTrak's R22 Collective Pull Down Ready to Ship
The collective pull down system lowers the collective automatically in a low rotor rpm situation.
Rotorcraft
Electric Mobility: Coming to a Crowded City Near You?
Research is accelerating on electric passenger-carrying aerial vehicles, possibly leading to new ways to travel in urban environments.
Rotorcraft
Airbus North America Grows Market Share
Orders include some from 20 new customers, five of which are new helicopter owners or operators.
Rotorcraft
Heli-Expo 2017 Set To Break 2013 Record
This year's Heli-Expo features the new HAI Connect meetup area with demonstrations and presentations, new product demos and hot topic seminars.
Rotorcraft
True Blue Power Adds Bell 505 as Lithium-ion Customer
Bell's selection of the True Blue Power TB-17 lithium-ion main-ship battery should help lower operating costs and improve availability.
Avionics
XLS Owner Signs Up for Elliott G5000 Upgrade
Elliott Aviation's Garmin G5000 upgrade for the Citation Excel/XLS will shave about 175 pounds from the jet's empty weight.
Avionics
Garmin Dealers Develop ADS-B STCs for Older Jets
Garmin's ADS-B solutions for older jets can save owners and operators tens of thousands of dollars.
Avionics
Mid-Canada Mod Adds CL604 FAA Fans Approval
The Mid-Canada Mod Center STC adds Fans 1/A+ capability to the Challenger 604 as a standalone upgrade.
Charter & Fractional
Surf Air Adds Service to San Diego Airport
The all-you-can-fly charter provider will soon offer flights to San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
Charter & Fractional
NTSB Accident Report Highlights Charter Ops Audit Questions
Auditing firms want to clarify the difference between audited charter operators and those for which they provide information only.
Airports
NBAA Petitions Court To Review SMO Shutdown Agreement
Despite the FAA's agreement to allow Santa Monica Airport to be closed in 2028, NBAA and others are fighting to keep the airport open.
Rotorcraft
Bell V-280 Valor Prepping for Flight-test Program
Bell's next tiltrotor design is 93 percent done and conducting ground testing in preparation for first flight around September 2017.
Avionics
AirSatOne Lowers SwiftBroadband Airtime Rates
Operators can see price reductions of as much as 18 percent.
Training and Workforce
Technology Advances Flight Training Field
Pilot training is entering a new era thanks to rapid advances in technology and lower cost training tools.
Training and Workforce
Stomaching Jet Upsets
AIN Senior Editor Matt Thurber spends a day in all-attitude jet upset training at Aviation Performance Solutions.
Aviation Apps: New Features Make Mobile Devices Ever More Useful
Developers of aviation applications have been busy adding features and coming up with new ways to present information.
Regulations and Government
AIN Blog: Taking the Scissors to FAA Regulations
Do we truly need all FAA regulations, or have some run their course?
