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

Illinois-based investment firm CL Enterprises has purchased family-owned aviation services provider Carver Aero, which operates the lone FBOs at Iowa’s Davenport Municipal and Muscatine Municipal Airports, both of which offer 5,500-foot main and 4,000-foot secondary runways. The acquisition represents CL's first foray into the aviation industry, and the locations will retain the Carver Aero name.

 


Davenport, which sees approximately 77 operations a day, has a &nbsp;modern 7,500-sq-ft terminal that includes a passenger lobby, pilot&nbsp;lounge, a pair of snooze rooms, a 30-seat conference room, flight-planning area, showers, and crew cars. The location has a 20,000-sq-ft heated hangar that can shelter up to midsize business jets.

 


In Muscatine, the FBO is open from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m. and occupies the 4,000-sq-ft city-owned terminal with a passenger lobby, pilot lounge, snooze room, showers, 16-seat conference room, and crew cars. A 6,400-sq-ft hangar with a 16-foot high door can accommodate aircraft up to a Citation V, and the location includes 80,000 sq ft of ramp space.

 


The purchase also included Carver’s Part 135 operation, which has a Cessna Citation Ultra and three Beechcraft King Airs—a Model 90, 200, and 350—in its fleet, and a Part 145 repair station at the Davenport location.

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Investment Firm Buys Family-owned Iowa FBOs

Carver Aero, which operates the lone FBOs at Iowa's Davenport Municipal and Muscatine Municipal Airport, has been sold to an investment firm.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

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.

Airport last owned the facility in the early 2000s

Illinois Airport Reacquires Sole Service Provider

The complex is viewed as the cornerstone of an aviation conglomerate

Major Las Vegas Hangar Complex Changes Hands

Projects totaled more than $5 million in infrastructure development

Oklahoma Airport Gets More Hangars, Upgraded Ramp

The facility will lean heavily towards sustainability

Clay Lacy Aviation Starts Construction on New KSNA FBO

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

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Illinois Airport Reacquires Sole Service Provider

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While the big chains take a more selective approach, others remain hungry

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Construction is expected to begin next year

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