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

Jeffrey Pino, president of Sikorsky Aircraft, announced his retirement effective July 1. He will be succeeded by Mick Maurer, president of Sikorsky’s military systems unit.
Maintenance program provider Jet Support Services (JSSI) has named two new co-presidents. Susan Marr was promoted from executive v-p, while Neil Book, formerly v-p of mobility at Juniper Networks, has joined the Chicago-based company.
Jean-Brice Dumont, most recently the head of Eurocopter’s EC225 program, was named the OEM’s chief technical officer and head of engineering. 
California-based MRO provider AeroWorx has named Ken Curry as its new v-p and general manager. Before this appointment, Curry served as president of KC Aviation.
Robert Lewis, previously president of Everest Fuel Management, has been named president and CEO of Pentastar Aviation, succeeding Rick Maloney, who retired.
Robert Murphy, previously executive v-p of global operations for BAE Systems’ product sectors business, has been appointed CEO at connectivity and bandwidth specialist Cobham.
Fractional ownership provider Executive AirShare has promoted Steve Simpson from standards captain to director of training. 
Gulfstream has named William Clarey as a mid-Atlantic regional sales director. Most recently he was Pacific Northwest sales director for Hawker Beechcraft business jets.
Michael Green, executive chairman for Delta Air Lines subsidiary Delta Private Jets, announced his retirement from the company.
New Hampshire-based engineered aircraft component supplier Yankee Pacific Aerospace has promoted Rick Richardson from president of its cabin innovations division to the company’s vice president of business development. He was succeeded by Harvey Ticlo, who served previously as senior v-p of the business aircraft sector for StandardAero.
Zipporah Marmor has joined Montreal-based Acass as director of aircraft sales and leasing. Before this appointment she was v-p of sales, marketing and quality with New Jet International in Monaco.
Universal Avionics has promoted Robert Randall from Midwest regional sales manager to OEM sales manager.
International charter services provider Air Partner has appointed Alexandra Nepochataya as its new sales manager for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Previously she was CIS marketing and sales executive for Chapman Freeborn.
Elliott Aviation has promoted Jeff Solberg from quality control inspector to quality manager in the service department its Eden Prairie, Minn. facility; Adam Doyle, previously soft-goods team leader, was named interior shop assistant manager. 
Canadian MRO and completions specialist Flying Colours has appointed Gary Wood, previously a regional sales manager for Cessna, as corporate sales and marketing representative. 
David Watson, previously president and CFO for Aircraft On Ground, has been appointed CFO of North American Aircraft Services and its affiliated companies. The San Antonio-based maintenance provider also named John Bullen, most recently with Greenwich AeroGroup, as director of sales and marketing.
MRO provider Stevens Aviation has made several additions to its staff. Mike Davis, previously a regional manager with Bombardier, was tapped as the avionics manager for its Greenville S.C. facility, while Rick Screen, most recently the owner of RJ Aircraft Services, was named as Gulfstream program manager. Robert Rudzik, formerly an aircraft services manager with Landmark Aviation, has joined the company as a technical sales consultant. 
Jeremy Pisell, most recently director of training at FlightSafety International’s Bell Helicopter Learning Center in Fort Worth, has been promoted to assistant manager of FSI’s Tucson, Ariz. facility.
West Star Aviation has tapped Julie Timmons as corporate aircraft interior sales manager at its East Alton, Ill. facility. Previously she was senior manager of MRO modification sales at Jet Aviation St. Louis. 
JetFlite International has promoted Warren Hogan from lead captain to chief pilot. The California-based aircraft management and charter company also named John Lehmann, formerly the president of Network Sports Marketing, as director of business development. 
Yousif Hassan Al Hammadi has been named acting general manager at Abu Dhabi’s Al Bateen Executive Airport. He takes over from Steve Jones, who was named managing director of Marshall Business Aviation and Marshall Executive Aviation by UK aviation services provider Marshall Aerospace. 
TAG Aviation Europe has appointed Manuel Mañas as general manager of TAG Aviation España in Madrid. He succeeds Carlos Gomez, who was named CEO of TAG Aviation Asia earlier this year.
Signature Flight Support has made several changes to its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) sales team. Steve Gulvin, most recently regional v-p of European operations, was named regional v-p of sales for EMEA, while Andrea Hopkins, previously general manager for Signature’s London Luton facility, was promoted to sales manager for mainland Europe. Julian Moller, previously operations and security manager at the aviation services provider’s Luton base, was tapped as sales manager for the UK and Ireland, and Karl Bowles was chosen as sales manager for the Middle East. Before this appointment he was director of Middle East business development for Jet Support Services (JSSI). 
Retired USAF Maj. Gen. Robert Steel has joined Tenax Aerospace as v-p for strategic business development–government, defense and special missions.
Turboprop modification specialist Blackhawk has appointed Taleb Zeitouny as chief engineer. He served most recently as project lead for DRS Technologies.
Joshua Trombly has been promoted to Part 135 director of maintenance at Heritage Aviation. Luke Jean has been promoted from Part 135 maintenance manager to Part 145 repair station accountable Manager.
Yorkk Swick, most recently StandardAero’s western region mobile service team manager, has been named general manager of Englewood, Colo.-based repair specialist Haggan Aviation.
Patrick Moylan, director of health, safety, environment and security for Signature Flight Support, was named the chairman of the National Air Transportation Association Environmental Committee.
Lincoln, Calif.-based MRO provider Freedom Aero Service has named two new directors of business development. Wayne Burk, formerly director of spare parts management with Gulfstream, will be based in California, while Ross Cairns, founder and managing member of Blue Avionics, will be based in Pennsylvania. 
Houston-based private lift provider American Jet International has named Annette Vitello, most recently director of operations at Reno Flight Services, to the same position.
Keri Jenkins, a former administrator with Camp Systems and Cessna, has joined Yingling Aviation as aircraft records control and document administrator. The Wichita-based services provider also named Rebecca Williams as manager of its propeller department. She most recently served as support services manager for McCauley Propeller Systems. Aviation attorney Ronald Williams was also hired as a customer and administrative specialist.
Samuel Hill, most recently senior vice president of sales and marketing with Honda Jet, has joined the strategic advisory council of Bye Aerospace.
Aircraft management and charter services provider JetFlite has promoted Damon Danneker from chief pilot to director of operations.
Canton, Ohio-based Timken has named Michael Hekker as product sales manager for its aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul business. Most recently he served as aftermarket sales manager for Pratt &amp; Whitney Component Solutions.
Canadian manufacturer TrueNorth Avionics has expanded its sales organization with the addition of two new executives. Bob Lynch was appointed sales director for the eastern U.S. region while Elie Tabri was named director for the western U.S.
Former U.S. Army general Richard Sherlock has been appointed CEO by the Association of Air Medical Services, replacing interim CEO John Fiegel.
The International Helicopter Safety Team has added Bill Chiles, president and CEO of Bristow Group, and Capt. John Steel of the Irish Aviation Authority to its executive committee.
Stephen Johnson, most recently aircraft sales manager for Hillsboro Aviation, has been named director of business development for Timberline Helicopters.
Dallas-based Business Jet Access has appointed Rudy Morin, previously an aircraft records auditor for Omniflight Helicopters, as service planning coordinator. The aircraft services provider also named Briana Nansen as executive flight solutions representative.
Texas-based interiors component manufacturer <a href="http://www.odysseyaero.com/">Odyssey Aerospace Components</a> has named <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=113131324&amp;locale=en_US&amp;trk=tyah2">Alan Wigert</a>, previously a sales representative with Aviation Avionics &amp; Instruments, asaccount representative. 
 Awards and Honors
The American Helicopter Society (AHS) International has presented its Howard Hughes Award for Outstanding Improvement in Helicopter Technology to Eurocopter’s X3 development team. The hybrid demonstrator aircraft in flight testing to date has surpassed its original speed target of 220 knots, <a href="http://www.ainonline.com/?q=aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2011-06-01/eurocopter-x3-compound-helo-reaches-232-knots">reaching 232 knots</a> using less than 80 percent of the available power while at the same time exhibiting exceptional flight characteristics and low vibration, according to Eurocopter.
Hobart “Hobie” Tomlinson of Huntington, Vt., has been named the 2012 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year by the FAA and the General Aviation Awards Program. A flight instructor since 1965, he has amassed more than 11,000 instructional hours. He has served as a designated pilot examiner since 1977, and in 2010 he received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, given to pilots with 50 consecutive years of safe flying. 

Final Flights
Gilbert “Gil” Utterback, 81, former president of Denver jetCenter and a well known member of the Colorado aviation community, died on April 22, following a long illness. A nearly 60-year private aviation services veteran, he began his career in the late 1950s as a parts sales clerk at Combs Aircraft at the now defunct Stapleton Airport. He immersed himself in the industry, rising to the position of aviation business manager. Utterback earned a pilot certificate in 1964 to share the perspective of his customers. He later moved to Denver Beechcraft and was offered the position of general manager of an FBO it acquired at Arapahoe (now Centennial) Airport in 1984. He remained a part of the management team there after the location was purchased by Denver jetCenter until his retirement in 2008.

People in Aviation: June 2012

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