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

Fred George
Tom Aniello, VP of marketing for Cessna, is leaving the company, effective immediately, as part of a shake-up of the aircraft manufacturer’s sales and marketing team, according to an internal email sent by Mark Paolucci, senior VP sales and marketing. The changes come a little more than a week after Textron’s first quarter 2011 earnings call disclosed that Cessna posted a $38 million loss during the first three months of the year.

By Fred George fred_george@aviatonweek.com
Honeywell's HTF7000, the 7,000-lb.-thrust class engine that powers the Bombardier Challenger 300 — with others soon to follow — now has amassed more than one million flight hours and operators say it's powerful, economical and, most importantly, reliable. The turbofan now meets or exceeds virtually all their expectations, even though it went through some minor teething pains during initial entry into service in mid-2003.

By Fred George fred_george@aiationweek.com
The business aircraft industry again flew through stormy skies in 2010. Compared to 2009, 12.3% fewer new turbofan aircraft were delivered, new turboprop shipments declined another 17.7% and there was a 7.7% drop in new piston aircraft deliveries, according to GAMA.