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

Edited By Paul RichfieldFred George, in San Diego
Honeywell's new 905 gas generator, potentially the core of a new 3,000- to 6,000-pound thrust turbofan family slated to replace the venerable TFE731, made its first test-cell run in Phoenix on November 29, 2000. Launched last February 2000, the 905's first test-cell run originally was scheduled for the end of 2000. Honeywell says the 905 program is part of a plan to develop new families of engines to complement the 6,500- to 8,000-plus-pound thrust AS907.

Edited By Paul RichfieldFred George, in San Diego
Rockwell International plans to divide itself into two units -- Rockwell Collins and Rockwell Automation -- in a bid to increase its stock price while making both entities more attractive to potential buyers. Some see the move as a competitive response to General Electric's proposed acquisition of Honeywell International, Rockwell Collins' main rival in the aircraft avionics field. The split is likely to occur by May or June, pending regulatory approval.

Edited By Paul RichfieldFred George
``I feel enormous relief,'' Gary Burrell, co-founder and co-chairman of Garmin International, told B/CA last month shortly after an Initial Public Offering raised $147 million for the avionics firm. The December 8, 2000 IPO involved 10.5 million shares, all purchased by institutional investors at $14 per share. The company shares trade on the Nasdaq stock market (symbol: GRMN).