Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Summit kicked off today at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif. The summit’s opening keynote session summarized results of a study conducted by Apco Insight not on why 75 to 80 percent of new student pilots quit flying without earning a pilot certificate but on how to help motivate students by aligning the training experience with their expectations. The Flight Training Student Retention Initiative study found that “there is a real problem with the way flight training is being delivered,” according to Apco Insight chairman Mark Benson. Apco surveyed 1,000 student pilots, pilots and instructors. The survey found that the flight training industry is actually doing well on the key elements that are important to new pilots, he noted. But educational quality is a major driver for new pilots, more critical than the value delivered by the training institutions. One weak area found by the study, he added, “is this unique notion of community and recognition. They are important motivators, and [new pilots] want to share the experience with a lot of other people. Those opportunities aren’t very apparent to them.” To help flight schools improve, AOPA is relaunching its Flight School Business publication and will hold regional forums around the U.S. “We’re inviting the entire general aviation community to help us find a better path forward,” said AOPA president and CEO Craig Fuller.

AOPA Summit Opens, Student Retention Key Goal 

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Summit kicked off today at the Long Beach Convention

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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