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
Investigators with the French Bureau d'Equetes et d'Analyses (BEA), the agency charged with investigating the crash of Air France Flight 447, now are focusing on a breakdown in situational awareness on the part of the flight crew and possible pilot error as contributing factors in the June 2009 mishap that killed 228 people when the Airbus A330 crashed into the South Atlantic. The latest findings broaden the scope of the inquiry well beyond a fly-by-wire flight control malfunction, possibly caused by iced-up pitot probes.
Business Aviation

Fred George
Pilots often characterize flying as “hours and hours of boredom, occasionally punctuated by moments of terror.” Modern cockpit automation increases the risk that pilots will be lulled into a dull state, unaware of subtle changes that may portend increasing risks.
Business Aviation

Fred George
The Air France 447 tragedy might have been avoided if the flight crew had a display of critical and rudimentary aerodynamic performance data. That is angle of attack (AoA), the geometric angle between the mean chord of the wing and the relative airflow.
Business Aviation