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

Edited By GORDON A. GILBERTGordon A. Gilbert/Fred George
Gulfstream expects that customer G-Vs will start entering service by the end of March. Deliveries of green aircraft to completion centers started in December 1996, when the FAA granted provisional certification. This provisional approval came just two months later than originally scheduled when the G-V program was officially announced four years ago (B/CA, October 1992, page 52).

Edited by Gordon A. GilbertFred George
Gulfstream's aggressive development program for its newest flagship is paying off. FAA certification (under an Amended TC based on earlier Gulfstream models plus changes through FAR Part 25 Amendment 81) for its 6,500-nm range G-V is on schedule for late this year. Four aircraft now are in the flight certification program. A fifth development aircraft, formerly used for static structural tests, is being reconfigured as a customer demonstrator.

Fred George
Illustration: FBO AND AIR TAXI BAROMETER The National Air Transportation Association's monthly index of FBO and charter businesses showed an overall 10.32 percent increase in April and May of this year over the base period (fourth quarter 1995). The statistics are derived from a representative sample of NATA members. PRODUCT ANALYSIS: KLN 900 Now that we've flown several hundred hours using the KLN 90B panel-mount GPS receiver, we've been thoroughly impressed with its performance and utility.