Fred George

Chief Aircraft Evaluation Editor

San Diego, CA

Summary

Fred is a senior editor and chief pilot with Business & Commercial Aviation and Aviation Week's chief aircraft evaluation pilot. He has flown left seat in virtually every turbine-powered business jet produced in the past three decades.

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 fred_george@aviationweek.com
Area navigation (RNAV) Required Navigation Procedure with Authorization Required (RNP AR) instrument approach and departure procedures are key components of the FAA's Next Generation air traffic management system and the European Aviation Safety Agency's Single European Sky (SESAR). Certificated U.S. air carriers, such as Southwest Airlines, along with NetJets pioneered RNP approaches as a means of gaining lower weather minimums at some of the airports they frequently use or to save fuel by flying tighter approach and departure paths.
Business Aviation

By Fred George fred_george@aviationweek.com
David Grant, president of SyberJet, the commercial name for MT LC, is wasting no time in resurrecting and reinvigorating the ill-starred SJ30 program, only a year after acquiring the assets of bankrupt Emivest Aerospace in April 2011. He and his investment team believe so strongly in the basic merits of the aircraft that they are launching the SJ30-Plus, a substantially improved third-iteration of the former Swearingen Fanjet with more powerful engines, better hot-and-high takeoff performance, improved fuel efficiency and up to 200 lb. more tanks-full payload.
Business Aviation

Fred George
Rockwell Collins discontinued its negotiations with Inmarsat regarding development, production and distribution of Ka-band Global Xpress broadband connectivity avionics for the Inmarsat 5 constellation that is due to enter service in 2014. Rockwell Collins says that it is “evaluating alternative broadband solutions.” Company spokespersons declined to elaborate on the cause of the breakdown in negotiations with Inmarsat or to discuss what future broadband solutions the company may offer.
Business Aviation