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

California-based Clay Lacy Aviation has received permission from the Connecticut Airport Authority to expand its East Coast aircraft maintenance, management, and charter facility at Waterbury-Oxford Airport into a full FBO. The company has had a presence at the airport since 2015 when it purchased the former Key Air and occupied its 65,000-sq-ft facility. Last year, the location, which currently employs 50 people, <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-05-29/clay-lacys-oxc-site-gets-part-145-approval">received FAA Part 145 maintenance approval</a>.

 


While the company will continue to use that facility, the airport authority awarded it with a new 30-year lease on another 16-acre plot, on which it will build a new $20 million FBO. The first phase, slated to open in early 2022, will consist of 40,000 sq ft of hangar and terminal space. An additional 120,000 sq ft of hangar, office, and MRO space will be completed in the following years.&nbsp;

 


"The award of this lease is the culmination of a five-year strategic plan to expand our capabilities and support services in the Eastern U.S.," said&nbsp;Clay Lacy president and&nbsp;CEO Brian Kirkdoffer. "We are delighted to partner with the Connecticut Airport Authority to bring new jobs and expanded services to the local economy."

 


It will be Clay Lacy Aviation's third FBO, following its flagship at Van Nuys Airport and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-09-17/orange-county-supervisors-award-fbo-leases-sna">recently awarded location at John Wayne-Orange County Airport</a>, which will debut at the beginning of 2021.

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

Clay Lacy To Open East Coast FBO

Clay Lacy Aviation has received permission from the Connecticut Airport Authority to expand its East Coast operations facility into a full FBO.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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

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.

Airport last owned the facility in the early 2000s

Illinois Airport Reacquires Sole Service Provider

The complex is viewed as the cornerstone of an aviation conglomerate

Major Las Vegas Hangar Complex Changes Hands

Projects totaled more than $5 million in infrastructure development

Oklahoma Airport Gets More Hangars, Upgraded Ramp

The facility will lean heavily towards sustainability

Clay Lacy Aviation Starts Construction on New KSNA FBO

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

More In FBOs

Illinois Airport Reacquires Sole Service Provider

Airport last owned the facility in the early 2000s

Major Las Vegas Hangar Complex Changes Hands

The complex is viewed as the cornerstone of an aviation conglomerate

Oklahoma Airport Gets More Hangars, Upgraded Ramp

Projects totaled more than $5 million in infrastructure development

Clay Lacy Aviation Starts Construction on New KSNA FBO

The facility will lean heavily towards sustainability

NATA Panel Examines FBO Preparation for eVTOL Service

OEMs and FBOs talk about how electric aircraft can be accommodated at FBOs

NATA Conference Panel Examines FBO Consolidation

While the big chains take a more selective approach, others remain hungry

Atlantic Aviation Gets Lease Renewal Approval in Aspen

The decision is the latest in a nearly two-year saga at the airport

Clay Lacy Aviation Gets Nod for Sun Valley FBO

Construction is expected to begin next year

AIN Products

SUBSCRIPTIONS

RESOURCES

ABOUT AIN