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 [email protected]
The G650 is arguably Gulfstream Aerospace’s most ambitious technological leap since Grumman, the line's progenitor, introduced the GII in 1965. The newest, top-of-the-line Gulfstream will cost nearly $1 billion to bring to market, by some industry estimates. In return, the G650 will offer passengers the largest cabin of any purpose-built business aircraft yet introduced. It will have the highest cruise speeds, longest range and best fuel efficiency of any business aircraft cruising at Mach 0.85.

Fred George
The Challenger 604 has 3,700-plus nm range, a cabin with a commodious cross section, good payload and good fuel efficiency. This also is an aircraft that has jetliner-like features that are well suited to transoceanic missions, including a split-bus AC electrical system, triple-redundant hydraulic system, fully powered flight controls and dual ACM packs. From 1996 to 2006, Bombardier delivered 366 of these versatile large-cabin aircraft.

Fred George
Learjet 35/36 aircraft can fly farther and faster than some of the latest light jets. Introduced in mid-1974, the Model 35 can fly six passengers 2,000 nm while cruising at 430 KTAS and land with NBAA IFR reserves. The Model 36, having 1,200 lb more fuselage fuel, but 3 ft. less cabin length, can fly 2,450 nm.