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

Craig Fuller, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), will step down from his position as soon as a successor is identified. The association also promoted Sean Collins from manager of the pilot information center to eastern regional manager.
Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) president Gregory Principato intends to step down from leadership of the association at the end of June.
Pat Waddick, previously Cirrus Aircraft’s executive v-p and COO, has been named president and COO. 
Piper Aircraft has promoted Jack Mill to v-p of engineering. He previously held the position on an interim basis. 
Patrick Ky, head of the Single European Sky ATM Research (Sesar) program, has been appointed executive director of EASA. He succeeds Patrick Goudou, who headed the European safety authority since its creation in 2003.
Aircraft charter/management specialist Priester Aviation has expanded Andrew Priester’s role from president and COO to president and CEO.
Nordam has announced changes to its executive staff. Phil Marshall, previously v-p of production operations for United Launch Alliance, was named v-p and general manager for the interiors and structures division, while Jodi Hackler was promoted from director of compliance and integrity to v-p of ethics and compliance. Tim Jackson has been promoted to v-p of information technology. Previously, he served as infrastructure services director. The Oklahoma-based company also named Bailey Siegfried, most recently director of global marketing and customer service, as v-p of global marketing and added him to the company’s board of directors.
Tim Johnson, previously director of business development with Signature Flight Support, has joined Atlantic Aviation as v-p of business development. 
Arizona-based MRO and completions specialist StandardAero has appointed Ken Aso as senior v-p for corporate strategy and customer development. Most recently he served as a partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
Central European Private Aviation (CEPA) appointed Philippe Liénard, founder and majority shareholder of Slovakian and Polish-based aircraft trading and leasing firm Aelis Group, as its new chairman for this year. 
Eric Byer, most recently v-p of government and industry affairs with the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), has been named senior v-p at aviation regulatory specialist law firm Obadal, Filler, MacLeod &amp; Klein.
Greenwich AeroGroup has hired John Fenton, most recently head of CHC’s Brazilian Helicopter Services (BHS), as the new president of Greenwich AeroGroup do Brazil. Capt. Renato Clark, previously BHS’s operations manager, has joined Greenwich Brazilian subsidiary Helivia Aero Taxi as operations director. The company also named Brian Dannewitz, previously v-p of aftermarket support services for Elbit Systems of America-M7 Aerospace, as the president of its parts supply subsidiary, Professional Aviation Associates.
Scott Holloway has been appointed senior v-p of capital solutions at FBO operator Sheltair. Most recently he served as the company’s liaison with financial lending institutions.
Flexjet has tapped Jason Weiss, previously v-p of crew resource planning at NetJets, as its new v-p of operations. He replaces David Gross, who is retiring. The fractional ownership provider also appointed Lori Carr, most recently president of her own consultancy firm, to the newly created position of owner experience officer. The Texas-based company also promoted Brian Atkinson and Richard Shyne from sales associate to sales director for the Chicago region and sales director for the Midwest territory, respectively.
Paul Schaaf, most recently chief pilot for the Fairfax County Police Department, has joined the Helicopter Association International as v-p of operations.
Quest Aircraft has announced several promotions of key personnel. Paul Duff, Jason Eddy and Steve Zinda have been promoted to v-p of supply chain; engineering and operations; and sales, marketing and customer service, respectively. Kenny Stidham, previously engineering test pilot, was moved into the newly created position of director of flight operations and safety. The Idaho-based company also named Paul Branham director of business development.
UK-based Marshall Aerospace has promoted Steve Jones to managing director of its new aviation services unit. Previously he headed the company’s MRO and charter divisions.
Aircraft charter specialist Air Charter Service has promoted Justin Bowman from commercial director to deputy managing director of the group
Saundra (Sandy) Wirtz has announced her retirement as the National Business Aviation Association’s director of seminars.
Chicago-based business aviation staffing agency Flight Crews Unlimited has appointed Marla McGatlin as director of business development. Most recently she was v-p of client services for Solairus Aviation.
Gama Group has promoted Jonathan Tregoiing to general manager of its Airops Software division.
Aviation services provider FirstFlight has named Nelson Garcia to the newly created position of flight operations coordinator for Latin America. Most recently he served as director of sales and governmental affairs with Pegasus Flight Support.
Paul Van der Blom has joined business aviation services provider Hawker Pacific as director of aircraft sales and acquisition services.
After serving at FlightSafety International as Gulfstream V program manager, John Lawson has returned to aircraft services provider TWC Aviation as training manager.
Billy Palmertree, formerly general manager at Tomlinson Avionics, has joined Texas-based US Aviation to run the avionics department and FAA Part 145 repair station.
Landmark Aviation has named Al Peterson general manager of its Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) location. Most recently he served as airport and FBO manager at Nantucket Memorial Airport.
Steve Hubble, previously with Dallas Airmotive, has joined Haggan Aviation as western regional sales manager.
Colorado-based Tempus Aircraft Sales &amp; Service has named Brian Panning as its newest sales director. Most recently he was the Western Pacific U.S. sales director for Hawker Beechcraft. 
Rich Barlow, previously a regional sales manager with Hawker Beechcraft, has joined Cleveland-based MRO provider Constant Aviation as Northeast regional sales manager. 
MRO provider Vector Aerospace has promoted Paul Bland to regional sales and service manager for New Zealand and parts of Australia in its Engine Services-Atlantic division.
King Aerospace, the Texas-based MRO and completions specialist, has named Keith Hagner, previously maintenance and avionics supervisor for Pentastar Aviation, as avionics manager. 
Mark Wilson, previously a 787 technician with Boeing, has joined Illinois-based West Star Aviation as Gulfstream/Challenger technical sales manager at the East Alton facility.
Czech Republic-based aviation services provider ABS Jets has promoted Zuzana Vaclavova to the role of marketing manager.
Aviation customer service training provider ServiceElements has added Donald Menard and Cheri Kirkpatrick to its staff as facilitators and strategists. The Arizona-based company also named Melanie Peterson as director of operations and logistics. 
Pat Reed, previously with PlaneSense, has joined Massachusetts-based private aviation solutions provider Magellan Jets as jet cards and membership consultant.
Aviation charity Patient Airlift Services has added Jen Hotsko to its team as pilot coordinator. 
Final Flight
Tom Hendershot, 72, executive director of the Aircraft Maintenance Technician Society since its inception in 2006, died February 22 in Littleton, Colo., after a brief illness. During his 57-year career in aviation he was one of the few individuals worldwide to receive both the FAA’s Charles E. Taylor Master Mechanic award and the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot awards. In 2003 he was named National Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year. As the head of the AMT Society, he was directly responsible for creation of the Inspection Authorization renewal programs, which train nearly 1,000 IAs annually, bringing the total for his career to more than 50,000. He was selected for the Colorado Aviation Historical Society Hall of Fame in 2010 and admitted to the OX5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame the following year.

People: April 2013

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