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.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

In a ceremony Friday at its facility at New York Westchester County Airport, NetJets accepted the first Bombardier Challenger 350 as launch customer for the super-midsize jet. “This is a terrific piece of machinery and we couldn’t be more excited about it,” said NetJets chairman and CEO Jordan Hansell.

 


An upgrade of the Challenger 300, the $25.8 million jet is powered by a pair of Honeywell HTF7350 turbofans, which provide more thrust than the HTF7000s on its predecessor. The flight deck has a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite, and the cabin design is exclusive to NetJets’ Signature Series version of the Challenger 350.

 


As part of a $17.6 billion fleet renewal program, NetJets expects to receive eight Signature Series 350s this year, followed by 17 next year. According to Hansell, the type will replace the Gulfstream G200 in the Ohio-based operator’s fleet.

 


Soon after the ceremony concluded, the aircraft was flown to Connecticut for contract signings before heading to the company’s Columbus headquarters, where it will begin approximately three weeks of FAA conformity inspections as the first of its type, before being placed on the NetJets operating certificate.

NetJets Takes Delivery of First Challenger 350

Fractional-share provider NetJets is replacing its G200s with Challenger 350s.

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