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

FBO and maintenance services provider Aircraft Specialists has consolidated its operations at Georgia’s Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field (KLZU) by acquiring the Sheltair facility there. The transaction leaves Aircraft Specialists as the lone FBO at the airfield.
Sheltair <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2023-01-31/sheltair-add-second-georgia-fbo">won</a> an RFP to take over the former Gwinnett Aero facility in 2023, and as part of the 40-year lease deal it had agreed to develop a new terminal/restaurant office building, which has not yet been done.
As it assumes the remainder of Sheltair’s lease at KLZU, Aircraft Specialists will build a 9,300-sq-ft FBO terminal, with groundbreaking slated for early next year. Situated on the north side of the field, it will include passenger and pilot lounges, snooze room, showers, conference room, management offices, catering kitchen, and employee training rooms.
That new facility will nearly triple the size of the existing Aircraft Specialists Jet Center terminal on the south side of the airport, which will be retained as a satellite facility while the existing 3,200-sq-ft Sheltair terminal on the north side will be rented out to tenants. According to Sheltair, some of its staff at KLZU joined the new owners, while others transitioned to other locations at the FBO chain.
As part of the purchase, Aircraft Specialists added 150,000 sq ft of hangar space capable of sheltering up to super-midsize jets to its existing 100,000 sq ft.
“We’re very excited for this new chapter,” said Rachael Weatherby, the company’s director of client services.&nbsp;“We’re proud of how far we’ve come and grateful for the opportunity to continue growing and creating an exceptional experience for our customers.”
The CAA Preferred FBO is open and fully operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with full-service jet-A and 100LL always available. Its Part 145 aircraft maintenance facility is staffed 24 hours a day, five days a week, with the maintenance team on call outside those hours when customers need assistance.

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

Aircraft Specialists Buys Out FBO Rival at Georgia Airport

The company is now the lone service provider on the field

Atlanta-area FBO/MRO Aircraft Specialists has bought out its rival at Gwinnett County Airport-Briscoe Field.

Aircraft Specialists Buys Out FBO Rival at KLZU

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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