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
Remember the built-for-comfort, not-for-speed C90 King Air? The King Air C90GT offers the same cabin, but cruises 35 to 60 knots faster, making it competitive in a race with the Pilatus PC-12. Consumers liked the difference and rewarded its manufacturer with a nearly three-fold increase in sales volume when the GT debuted in late 2005. One hundred-plus units were built between late 2005 and 2007 before the C90GT was succeeded by the C90GTi, a model with identical performance but having upgraded avionics.

Fred George
Pilots climbing into the CJ4 may not recognize it as a member of the CitationJet family because the flight deck redesign has been so thorough. Four, eight-by-ten inch portrait-configuration AM-LCD screens dominate the instrument panel. The stand-alone radio tuning units have been eliminated, along with the glareshield-mounted annunciator light panel and flight guidance system controls buried in the center console.

Fred George
Citation CJ3 resale prices have fallen 30 to 50 percent during the current recession and that’s great news for business aircraft operators looking for one of the most versatile light jets yet to enter the market. This is an aircraft that can depart a 3,180-foot runway, climb directly to FL 450, cruise at 400-plus KTAS and fly three passengers 1,700 nm. Upon arrival, it needs less than 2,500 feet of runway for landing.