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
None of the operators we contacted regretted moving up to the Mustang from their former turboprop or piston-engine aircraft. They said the small fanjet has the same or lower operating costs than twin turboprops and offers speed, cabin comfort and high-altitude cruise not possible in similarly priced turboprops.

Fred George
CESCOM, Cessna’s computerized maintenance tracking system, provides a comprehensive analysis of Mustang fleet activity during its first two years in service. While Mustang operators report a wide range of average stage lengths and flight times, the average annual utilization so far is 173 hours and the average flight is one hour, 10 ten minutes. The mean stage length is 360 nm, assuming a high-speed cruise profile and a cruise altitude of FL 290.

Fred George
Virtually all operators with whom we spoke said that the aircraft meets or exceeds Cessna’s original speed, range and fuel economy estimates for it. For example, Kevin Hight, who flies a Mustang based in the Northeast, provided a spot check of cruise performance on a recent flight. He reported the airplane cruised at 339 KTAS at FL 390 weighing 7,700 pounds in ISA+4°C conditions while burning 512 pph. At that weight, the Mustang flight planning guide predicts a cruise speed of 328 KTAS while burning 517 pph in ISA conditions.