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

The sole FBO at Great Bend Municipal Airport (KGBD) in Kansas has been renamed BeckAir—a play on the name of new owner Dirk Becker, a professional pilot and flight instructor. He acquired the facility after former operator Coulson Aviation declined to continue its lease.
With its 7,852-foot main runway, KGBD began as a WWII bomber base, and the lobby of the FBO’s 5,000-sq-ft terminal harkens back to that era with historical photos and period memorabilia decorating the walls. It features a refreshment bar with fresh cookies and coffee; an eight-seat conference room that doubles as the pilot lounge; a flight-planning area/business center; and a crew car.
The World Fuel-branded facility has a 26,000-sq-ft hangar that can accommodate up to midsize jets, along with a 1,600-sq-ft maintenance hangar. A full-time A&amp;P mechanic is on duty on weekdays and available on-call on weekends.
Thanks to KGBD’s location in the middle of the U.S., the FBO can offer quick turns on refueling stops.
“We pride ourselves on quick, professional, and personal service for each and every customer,” Becker told AIN. “Our goal is to get you back in the air as quickly as possible by providing quick turns in 15 minutes or less.”

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

Pilot Steps In To Operate the FBO at Kansas’ Great Bend Municipal Airport

The facility pays tribute to the airfield’s WWII service

A pilot steps in to take over the operation of the lone FBO at a Kansas Airport after the former proprietor declined their lease terms.

Pilot Steps In To Operate Kansas FBO

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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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