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
General aviation safety numbers are “not where I or FAA would like them to be,” FAA Administrator Randy Babbit said Wednesday. Speaking at last week’s Experimental Aircraft Association’s AirVenture, he noted that there have been 120 fatal GA crashes in the first half of 2010. A recent mishap involved NASCAR team owner Jack Roush at the EAA gathering on Tuesday. Although Roush and a passenger were both able to walk away, Roush suffered serious injuries while attempting to land his Beech Premier 1 light jet.

Fred George
OSHKOSH, WIS. – Honda Aircraft Co. has powered up the first conforming flight test HondaJet, making possible first flight in the next few months and FAA type certification by mid-2012, followed by entry into service in the third quarter. Company officials revealed the milestone event, which occurred in May, during a briefing at last week’s Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture. The company claims to have 100-plus orders for the aircraft, a figure that has been cited for well more than a year.

Fred George
Citation XLS, Cessna’s second-generation Citation 560XL that was built from 2004 through 2008, offers midsize cabin comfort, 1,700-nm range at high-speed cruise and the best runway performance in its class, just like the original Citation Excel that went into production in 1998.