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

With Florida experiencing a hangar shortage, real estate developer, FBO owner, and pilot Grayson Patterson has opened a new 13,000-sq-ft aircraft hangar complex at Vero Beach Regional Airport (KVRB), one of the Sunshine State’s most active general aviation airports.
The project—designed to accommodate a wide range of owner-flown aircraft and business aviation users—consists of three individual hangar bays, capable of accommodating up to a midsize business jet. Each is equipped with a 60-foot-wide by 18-foot-high door, epoxy-coated floors, high-output LED lighting, insulation, private restrooms, and air-conditioned office space.
While Patterson operates an FBO at Pennsylvania’s Erie International Airport/Tom Ridge Field (KERI), he has business ties to the Vero Beach area. He said the project comes at a time when demand for aircraft storage in the region continues to outpace supply, with a waiting list of more than 150 aircraft owners seeking hangar space.
“Vero Beach continues to be one of the most attractive business aviation markets in Florida,” Patterson told AIN. “The response to this project has reinforced our belief that additional hangar capacity is needed, and we’re excited to begin planning the next phase of investment in the region.”
Patterson has secured an additional five acres at the airport for future aviation development. Plans for the next phase are expected to focus on larger-scale hangar facilities capable of supporting heavy and super-midsize business jets, while also attracting maintenance, repair, and overhaul providers to the airport.
Located on Florida’s Treasure Coast, KVRB features two independent FBOs, on-airport U.S. Customs facilities, and a 7,313-foot primary runway capable of accommodating a broad range of business aviation traffic.

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

New Hangar Complex Opens at Florida’s Vero Beach Regional Airport

Facility adds capacity to a tight aviation shelter market

A new hangar complex at Vero Beach Regional Airport is injecting needed capacity into a tight Florida market.

New Hangar Complex Opens at Vero Beach Regional Airport

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

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.

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