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

Alexander Mikheev has been named CEO of Russian Helicopters. He previously served as deputy CEO of Rosoboronexport, Russia’s weapon export agency. 
Gulfstream appointed Brent Monroe, most recently a sales executive with Bombardier, v-p of North American sales, Western division. The company also named Kevin Valik, previously a regional sales manager at Dassault Falcon Jet, a North American sales director in the company’s East division. He succeeds Howard Modjeski, who announced his retirement. The Savannah airframer also promoted John Neely III from deputy general counsel to v-p of law and public affairs. 
Vern Raburn, founder and CEO of the former Eclipse Aviation, has been named chairman and CEO of UAV manufacturer Titan Aerospace.
Delta Private Jets has made some changes to its executive staff. John Daly, most recently director of safety and quality with Azul Brazilian Airlines and chief of staff to the airline’s COO and CEO, was named COO. Jay Furnish, previously director of system planning, crewmember services and airport customer service for former Delta subsidiary Comair, was named v-p of operations. Scott McCool, most recently Flight Options’ director of maintenance, has joined the company as v-p of maintenance.
Paul Class, most recently senior v-p of charter services at TWC Aviation, has been appointed senior v-p of charter sales with Solairus Aviation. 
Aviation services provider CTP Aviation announced several leadership changes. Company founder Reid Dennis transitioned into the role of chairman while retaining ownership of the company, and Selwyn House, previously director of operations, has succeeded him as president and CEO. Chief pilot John Fulton was given the additional title of v-p of operations, and Andy Macfie was promoted from director of maintenance to v-p of maintenance. Craig Zirzow, formerly director of charter sales with Solairus Aviation, joined the Hayward, Calif.-based company as v-p of sales and marketing. 
Elit’Avia, the Slovenia-based provider of business aircraft charter, management and operation services, appointed Puja Mahajan COO. Most recently, she served as director of business aircraft flight operations at Bombardier.
Craig Huston, previously v-p and general manager with GE Engine Services Miami, joined Fort Lauderdale-based aircraft services provider Banyan Air Service in the newly created position of COO.
Wales-based MRO provider <a href="http://www.cardiffaviation.com/">Cardiff Aviation</a> appointed Andrew Braley, previously director of business development with AJ Walter Aviation, as commercial director. 
Helicopter operator Bristow Group named Steve Predmore as v-p and chief safety officer. Most recently he served as senior v-p of safety for MV Transportation.
Dassault Falcon Jet announced several executive staff changes. Carlos Brana was promoted from v-p of contracts and specification to the newly created position of senior v-p of Teterboro operations, while Geoff Chick, most recently senior director of customer service, was named v-p of customer service for the western hemisphere. He replaces Frank Youngkin, who retired. Bob Sundin, previously senior v-p and COO of Dassault Aircraft Services, has been appointed president of the company-owned service center network. The Saint-Cloud, France-based manufacturer also named Frédéric Leboeuf as v-p of Falcon operational support to succeed Gérard Dailloux, who retired.
John Gauch, previously fleet sales director and v-p of domestic sales with Cirrus Aircraft, joined Lakeland, Fla.-based Gulf Coast Avionics as v-p of sales.
American Eurocopter named Samuel Adcock to the position of v-p and general manager of the company’s <a href="http://www.eurocopterusa.com/index/index.asp">helicopter</a> production plant in Columbus, Miss. Adcock has been EADS North America’s senior v-p of strategy and business development. Earl Walker, currently senior director and general manager in Columbus, will assume the new position of senior director of government relations.
West Star Aviation promoted Debi Cunningham from director of marketing to v-p of marketing and interior design. 
Ron Ladnier has been promoted to v-p of FlightSafety International subsidiary FlightSafety Services. He replaces Mike Sangster, who will retire at the end of the year but remain with the company as a consultant.
Greenwich AeroGroup has hired Jim Meier as its new v-p of government business development. Previously he served as Sabreliner’s senior v-p of aviation services.
Florida-based aircraft services and sales provider Naples Jet Center named Gustavo Botura, previously a customer account manager with Embraer, director of Embraer sales. 
Owen Coulman, previously a combat pilot and major with the U.S. Marine Corps, and Darin Howell, formerly senior product marketing manager with Veeco Instruments, have joined Bell Helicopter as regional commercial sales managers in North America. 
Zenith Aviation appointed Scott Nordstrom, most recently president of the International Trade Group, as director of business development.
Kimberly Holloway, previously a sales representative with Fleet Maintenance of Texas, joined Uvalde, Texas-based SkyWay Aero as acquisitions manager.
Dallas-based aviation services provider Business Jet Access promoted David Milne from assistant chief pilot of safety to chief pilot. 
PPG Industries’ aerospace transparencies group promoted Arthur Scott from global director for general aviation transparencies to global market director for commercial transparencies. He succeeds James Romano, who was appointed business manager for the PPG Aerospace Los Angeles application support center. Mark Hood, most recently an OEM market segment manager for commercial transparencies, was tapped to succeed Scott.
David O’Neill, previously v-p of international sales and marketing with Aeroframe Services, was named director of sales for Premier Aviation Overhaul Center.
UK-based business aviation MRO Jets promoted Phil Grey from continuing airworthiness manager to continuing airworthiness, planning and technical services manager for its Bournemouth and London Biggin Hill facilities.
Brad Elliott, most recently new business director at Showalter Flying Service, was named manager of new business with concierge travel provider Air Journey.
Legacy Aviation Services hired Russ Hampton, previously a shop supervisor for Commander Aircraft, as a senior service technician at its Yukon, Okla. facility. 
Greg Kinsella, president and CEO of Key Air, and Jeff Madtes, president of FirstFlight, have been selected to the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s board of governors.
Bob Andrews has joined Aero-One Aviation as the general manager of its FBO at Alabama’s Dothan Regional Airport.
Aviation consulting firm Private Jet Services Group hired three new flight coordinators: Joe Marino, most recently with Sentient Jet; Brent Ruder, previously a traveling service manager with Champion Air; and Nathan Oprea, who most recently served as a station manager in Manchester, N.H. for Delta Air Lines and United Express.
Chad Voss joined the legal team at Kansas City, Mo.-based aviation law firm Cooling &amp; Herbers.
Helicopter Specialties, of Janesville, Wis., named Mike Davis as logistics manager.
Jason Zelenak was promoted from senior search coordinator to sales manager at aerospace recruitment firm Aviation Search Group. 
Awards &amp; Honors
Former Cessna Aircraft chairman and CEO <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/search/results?q=Dwane%20Wallace">Dwane Wallace</a> has been elected for posthumous enshrinement into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Ohio. He served for 41 years at Cessna and guided its expansion to meet demand for military aircraft during World War II. Later, his leadership brought the Wichita-based airframer into the modern age through the aggressive expansion of the company’s product line, including the introduction of its successful Citation line of business jets. In 1976, Wallace and his wife, Velma, established a fund that has provided millions of dollars in engineering scholarships at <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/profiles/company/us/ks/wichita/wichita_state_university/3251548">Wichita State University</a> since its creation. Wallace died in 1989 and his wife continued to pursue charitable endeavors until her death last year. 
The FAA has honored Manitowoc, Wis.-area natives Leon Sigman and Jim Wheeler for 50 years of flying safety and for their contributions to general aviation. Both are employed as flight instructors by Lakeshore Aviation, and began their flying careers in the 1950s. They received certified flight instructor status in the 1970s, and each has more than 12,000 hours of flying experience. 
Final Flight
Robert Barnes, 68, founder and CEO of the International Association of Flight Training Professionals (IAFTP) and a strong proponent of aviation safety, died on September 29, following a stroke. The owner of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based consultancy Robert B. Barnes Associates, he founded the IAFTP with the goal of improving the competency of pilots in all sectors, including airlines, air taxi, business and general aviation. A graduate from the University of Southern California’s Air Force ROTC program with a degree in aerospace science, he served seven years with the USAF as an instructor pilot on the T-38. During his career he served as a human factors flight-test consultant for several companies.

People in Aviation: November 2013

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