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
The Beech 1900D may not win any beauty contests, but it surely looks good in the eyes of many corporate shuttle operators and their CFOs. The cabin has a volume of 584 cubic feet, the fuselage has a squared oval cross-section for increased shoulder room and the aircraft has the widest c.g. range of any aircraft its class. It has excellent hot-and-high performance and it costs less than $1,200 per hour to operate in spite of $4.00-per-gallon fuel prices. Beyond that, few aircraft with similar capabilities can equal its dispatch reliability.

Fred George
Flying nonstop from San Diego to Atlanta isn't a typical mission for a TBM 850, but that's precisely what B&CA did in late February with the help of average 65-knot tailwinds. Departing San Diego-Montgomery Field at 7:46 a.m., we arrived at Atlanta's DeKalb-Peachtree Airport at 4:10 p.m. and landed with healthy VFR fuel reserves. That's a distance of 1,700-plus nm, using the most direct available ATC routing that day and accounting for vectoring by ATC in the Atlanta area.

Fred George
Imagine rolling down the runway at full thrust and just as you reach the V1 takeoff decision speed, a bright red "FIRE" warning annunciator illuminates. A fire warning bell, buzzer or "Bong! Bong! Bong!" chime also sounds, as loud as a klaxon. Without doubt, there's nothing quite like a fire onboard an aircraft to rivet your attention.