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

By Fred George
Step aboard Boeing's BBJ MAX 8, one of the world's most exclusive private jets, and you'll find it does virtually everything better than the original BBJ that made its debut almost two decades ago.
Business Aviation

By Fred George
Operators say they’re reluctant to trade up because they don’t need more capable aircraft, the gap between new aircraft prices and residual values of their aircraft is too great, and they’re unsure about the economy or regulatory environment, among other factors.
EBACE

By Fred George
For the first time in 16 years, Robert H. Wells, isn’t at EBACE. Two years ago, he retired as the high-profile head of TAG Aviation, his employer for 16 years, and also resigned as an EBAA board director, a position he held for 8 years. Rob and wife Edie uprooted from Geneva and transplanted to Seattle, hoping to cultivate old connections in the Pacific Northwest. Then, in January, he was named CEO of Quest Aircraft, which manufactures the rugged Kodiak bush plane.
EBACE