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

Fargo Jet Center’s sister company Weather Modification International (WMI) has been contracted by the University of North Dakota (UND) to assist in a research project sponsored by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center.

 


To begin later this month, the mission known as Cape Experiment 2019 will send the North Dakota-based company’s modified Cessna Citation II into Florida thunderstorms. The twin-engine jet will be outfitted with a variety of&nbsp;probes to measure the tops and centers of the storms&nbsp;on a variety of environmental parameters, including temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure, along with cloud size, cloud imaging, and precipitation imaging. The results, gathered over 20 to 30 hours of flying,&nbsp;will be compared with those from the Navy’s Mid-Course Doppler Radar, one of the most advanced radar systems on the planet, to develop better cloud models.

 


WMI has experience in the modification and operation of special mission aircraft for use in cloud seeding and atmospheric research. The company has partnered with UND in the past using its faculty and students in other research.

 


“CapeEx19 is one example of how we can leverage the strengths of UND and the atmospheric sciences department in deploying industry-leading equipment on domestic and international projects, in this case, a fully instrumented Cessna Citation II research aircraft to Cape Canaveral, Florida,” said WMI president Neil Brackin.

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

North Dakota Company's Jet To Hunt Florida Storms

Weather Modification International's Citation II will participate in a program with the University of North Dakota and the U.S. Navy on thunderstorms.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

Organization holds its sixth annual Green Aero Days event in Toulouse

Green Aviation Takes Root in France's Aerospace Valley 

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney are committed to new R&D efforts in the Netherlands

RTX Launches Sustainability Alliance With Dutch Aerospace Sector

Total funding for the third phase of work could top €950 million

EU's Clean Aviation Set to Invite Proposals for Decarbonization R&D Work

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

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

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.

Naples Aviation is the first of many to begin offering SAF in the coming months

Florida FBO Becomes First on East Coast To Offer SAF

The large-scale plant is expected to come online in 2026

Pakistan's First SAF Plant Gets Funding Boost

The multi-billion-dollar facility is expected to be running by 2029

New Major SAF Plant Planned for Texas

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

The move could bolster the Kingdom's circular economy and sustainability

TotalEnergies, Aramco Sign SAF Development Agreement

Kerry Lynch

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

More In Environment