Fred George

Chief Aircraft Evaluation Editor

Redmond, Oregon

Summary

Fred formerly served as senior editor and chief pilot with Business & Commercial Aviation and as Aviation Week & Space Technology's chief aircraft evaluation pilot. He has flown left seat in virtually every turbine-powered business jet produced in the past three decades. He now is managing member of Fred George Aero LLC of Redmond, Oregon.

He has flown more than 195 makes, models and variants, ranging from the Piper J-3 Cub through the latest Boeing and Airbus large twins, logging more than 7,000 hours of flight time. He has earned an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and six jet aircraft type ratings, and he remains an active pilot. Fred also specializes in avionics, aircraft systems and pilot technique reports.

Fred was the first aviation journalist to fly the Boeing 787, Airbus A350 and Gulfstream G650, among other new turbofan aircraft. He’s also flown the Airbus A400M, Howard 500, Airship 600, Dassault Rafale, Grumman HU-16 Albatross and Lockheed Constellation.

Prior to joining Aviation Week, he was an FAA designated pilot examiner [CE-500], instrument flight instructor and jet charter pilot and former U.S. Naval Aviator who made three cruises to the western Pacific while flying the McDonnell-Douglas F-4J Phantom II.

Fred has won numerous aviation journalism awards, including NBAA’s David W. Ewald Platinum Wing Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Articles

Fred George (San Diego)
Latin America now is the third-largest market for business aircraft behind North America and Europe. And aircraft manufacturers and trade associations believe that it will only grow stronger. Turboprop aircraft deliveries in Latin America increased by 46% and turbofan deliveries were up 36% from 2009 to 2010, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s most recent shipment report. The regional gain was in vivid contrast to the 14% overall drop in turbine business aircraft deliveries from the previous year.

Fred George (San Diego)
Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, better known as Embraer, delivered almost one in five new business jets in 2010, finishing third in total units behind Cessna and Bombardier. This was 23 more aircraft than the Brazilian manufacturer delivered in 2009 and just six years after announcing it was entering the business jet market.

Fred George
Slip into a 1997 to 2006 Citation Bravo and it feels as comfortable as your favorite pair of old shoes. But the performance and utility of these brogans are head-and-shoulders above the original 1978 through 1994 CE-550. The Bravo flies up to 2,000 ft. higher, 40 kt. faster and 300 mi. farther.