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

Peter O. Knight Airport (KTPF) in Tampa, Florida, has resumed accepting nighttime flights two months after the field was ravaged by wind and storm surges resulting from two hurricanes.
On September 26, KTPF was inundated by up to 4 feet of salt water as <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2024-09-27/florida-airports-quickly-rebound-after-helene">Hurricane Helene</a>&nbsp;passed offshore of Tampa Bay, causing damage to the runway lighting system and hangars.
Less than two weeks later, the area took a direct hit from Category 3 <a href="https://live.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2024-10-08/hurricane-milton-takes-aim-florida-airports-close">Hurricane Milton</a>, which damaged several hangars.
After weeks of repairs, the taxiway lights were restored last week, less than 10 days after the runway lights became operational again. All told, more than 350 fixtures were impacted.
The airport has cleaned out its hangars and is continuing repairs on some of the doors. Inside the airport terminal, flooring and drywall were replaced.
Hillsborough County Aviation Authority’s (HCAA) two other general aviation airports, Tampa Executive (KVDF) and Plant City Airport (KPCM), escaped the storms relatively unscathed.
“Resuming operations at Peter O. Knight is a sign of the resiliency of the businesses and residents on Davis Islands,” explained Brett Fay, the HCAA’s v-p of general aviation. “Thanks to the hard work of the crews working at KTPF and the patience of our tenants and business partners, we’ve been able to deal with these historic challenges and get pilots back in the air.”

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Tampa's KTPF Now Fully Operational Two Months after Hurricane Damage

KTPF accepts night flights for the first time since September

Tampa's Peter O. Knight Airport has resumed nighttime operations two months after it was damaged by two hurricanes.

Tampa GA Airport Now Fully Operational after Storms

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