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Revision as of 02:42, 13 February 2016

Eclipse 500
Role Very light jet
National origin United States
Manufacturer Eclipse Aviation
First flight August 26, 2002
Introduction December 31, 2006
Status Production Halted
Primary user Linear Air
Produced January 2001- November 2008
Number built 260[1]
Variants Eclipse 550

The Eclipse 500 is a small six-seat business jet aircraft manufactured by Eclipse Aviation.

Eclipse 500 became the first of a new class of Very Light Jet[2] when it was delivered in late 2006. The aircraft is powered by two lightweight Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan engines in aft fuselage-mounted nacelles.

Production of the Eclipse 500 was halted in mid-2008 due to lack of funding, and the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 25 November 2008.[3][4] The company then entered Chapter 7 liquidation on 24 February 2009.[5] After lengthy Chapter 7 procedure, Eclipse Aerospace was confirmed as the new owner of the assets of the former Eclipse Aviation on 20 August 2009 and opened for business on 1 September 2009. In October 2011 Eclipse Aerospace announced that they will put a new version of the aircraft, to be called the Eclipse 550, into production with deliveries starting in 2013.[6][7][8]

In April 2015 Eclipse Aerospace was merged with Kestrel Aircraft to form One Aviation.[9]

Design and development

The Eclipse 500 is based on the Williams V-Jet II, which was designed and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites in 1997 for Williams International. It was intended to be used as a testbed and demonstrator for their new FJX-2 turbofan engine. The aircraft and engine debuted at the 1997 Oshkosh Airshow.

The V-Jet II had an all-composite structure with a forward-swept wing, a V-tail, each fin of which was mounted on the nacelle of one of the two engines. Williams had not intended to produce the aircraft, but it attracted a lot of attention, and Eclipse Aviation was founded in 1998 to further develop and produce the aircraft.

The prototype and only V-Jet II aircraft was obtained by Eclipse Aviation along with the program, and was donated to the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 2001.

Adaptation of V-Jet II design

Eclipse 500 flight test aircraft at Mojave
Flight test aircraft at Mojave
Parked at Colorado Springs Airport
Eclipse 500 at Oshkosh Air Show in 2007

Founder and former Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn was one of the first business executives at Microsoft. Subsequently, Bill Gates became a major stake-holder in the Eclipse project.[10] The VLJ concept has been pursued by a number of manufacturers, and because the V-Jet II had been designed around one of the primary VLJ engines, Eclipse believed it was an ideal design to refine and market.

The airframe was significantly redesigned as an all-metal structure with a T-tail and straight wings. The main cabin shape is essentially all that was retained from the V-Jet II. It was recognized that for an aluminum structure to be cost effective, new manufacturing techniques would have to be developed. One of the primary processes used was friction stir welding, in which the skin and underlying aluminum structure are welded together rather than riveted, as traditional for aluminum aircraft. Anti-corrosion bonding techniques were also developed.[11]

Besides materials processes, the general process of building the airframe was redesigned, with techniques taken from the automotive industry. Traditionally, aircraft structure is mounted in a jig, and the skin is riveted onto the outside of it. For the Eclipse 500, lessons were taken from composite airframe manufacturing, and the aluminum skin is first laid in a mold, and then the structure is built into it. The result is much more precise control of the aircraft's final shape, resulting in a cabin that is more robust and can be pressurized to a higher differential. In addition, the manufacturing techniques are designed so that one crew can assemble an airframe in a single shift. The complete interior is designed to be installed on a moving assembly line in 45 minutes.

Originally Eclipse selected a pair of Williams International EJ-22 engines (a production variant of the FJ22/FJX-2) for the Eclipse 500, but as the aircraft's weight increased, performance was not satisfactory. Pratt & Whitney Canada agreed to participate in the project, and modified the design of their PW615 engine, designating it the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F. The prototype Eclipse 500 first flew with the Williams engines in 2002.[12] The redesign to incorporate the new engines resulted in a significant delay to the development program. The first flight of the Eclipse 500 with the new engines occurred on December 31, 2004.[13]

An Eclipse press release says that its aircraft is "the quietest jet aircraft" and that it is "quieter than virtually all multi engine turboprop and piston aircraft".[14]

Instrument Panel

The Eclipse 500 cockpit has glass cockpit technology and an integrated avionics package. Problems with the original configuration have involved a re-design of the system. The first aircraft have the original system called Avio installed. Later aircraft have the Avio NG system in place of the original Avio. The new avionics package was certified in December 2007 and it was intended at that time that the older Avio-equipped aircraft would be retrofitted to the same standard by the end of 2008.[15]

Interior amenities

At the time of its introduction the Eclipse 500 was the only general aviation jet on the market without a lavatory, a feature that many executives and other jet purchasers are used to having. A New York Times article on August 29, 2006 posed the question, "Will having a lavatory on board be the key factor in short flight success?"[16] A July, 2006 NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams broadcast also discussed the issue of the Eclipse 500's lack of an on board toilet.[17] Passengers needing to relieve themselves on the Eclipse 500 will be required to bring along a portable container. Eclipse Aviation's CEO Vern Raburn suggested that most of his company's customers would be using the VLJ for short flights from 300–500 miles in length in 40–80 minutes and that the lavatory issue would not be a problem for VLJ customers.[16]

Rick Adam, CEO of now defunct Adam Aircraft Industries, disagreed and says, "people are not going to get on a plane without a bathroom, at least they are not going to do it more than once". However, the new air taxi service companies, which made up the bulk of the Eclipse 500 orders, conducted surveys that showed that having a toilet is not a concern for most of their passengers. The CEO of DayJet said that even if his company outgrew the Eclipse 500, he would have had his company's larger planes configured without a toilet.[17]

Certification

USA

The Eclipse 500 received provisional type certification from the FAA on 27 July 2006, shortly after the aircraft's PW610F engine was certified by the Canadian authorities. FAA Administrator Marion Blakey presented Raburn with the provisional certificate in a special ceremony at the 2006 Oshkosh Airshow. Full certification was not granted at that time because the composite wing tip fuel tanks did not meet FAA lightning strike criteria. As a result, Eclipse started testing an improved wingtip fuel tank made from aluminium. Eclipse also started production of the 500, so aircraft could be released to customers once full certification was achieved.

Full type certification was eventually achieved on 30 September 2006. At that point, in addition to the five flying prototypes, 23 aircraft were in production and two had already been completed. The 500 type certificate allows the aircraft to be flown under IFR with a single pilot.[18]

The Eclipse 500 was given an initial airframe life of 10,000 hours, 10,000 cycles or 10 years, whichever came first. By carrying out additional fatigue testing Eclipse Aerospace was able to have the FAA raise this limit to 20,000 hours or 20,000 cycles with an unlimited calendar life in June 2013.[19][20]

Eclipse received its FAA production certificate on 26 April 2007. Serial numbers 1 through 11 were produced prior to the production certificate being granted and these aircraft were subject to individual FAA inspection. Serial numbers 12 and higher were built under production certificate No. 500.[18][21]

The aircraft received its certification for flight into "known icing conditions" on 25 June 2008, although this is yet to be added to the current type certificate data sheet, which is Revision 2, 15 January 2008.[18][22]

Investigation of certification issues

In June 2008 the United States Congress tasked the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation with the investigation of claims by Federal Aviation Administration employees who have indicated that the certification process of the Eclipse 500 was flawed. Members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents FAA Aircraft Certification Engineers, have filed a grievance alleging that the type certificate was improperly issued by FAA managers over a weekend and that the aircraft had outstanding safety issues at that time. The FAA stated that it stands behind its certification of the jet. Then Eclipse CEO, Vern Raburn, stated the 500 was in "complete and total conformity" and that he considered the complaint an internal FAA issue between workers and managers.[23][24]

The concerns expressed by the union representing the certification engineers included:[25]

  • that the FAA issued the 500 type certificate "without allowing FAA aircraft certification engineers and flight test pilots to properly complete their assigned certification and safety responsibilities";[25]
  • FADEC issues, that indicated a loss of control of engine thrust could occur;[25]
  • Designated Engineering Representatives, who reported to FAA program managers, were being pressured by Eclipse;[25]
  • that, instead of taking action against the aircraft manufacturer for pressuring the DERs, the FAA management ignored complaints;[25]
  • that, at the time of the issue of the type certificate, the cockpit displays were not in compliance with the FARs, suffered repeated failures and displayed incorrect data.[25]
FAA special review

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that it commenced a 30-day special review of its certification of Eclipse 500 on 11 August 2008. The review was headed by Jerry Mack, a former Boeing safety executive. The remainder of the review team was composed of personnel who were not involved in the original certification effort. The certification review team was mandated to examine aircraft safety, certification of aircraft trim, flaps, display screen blanking and stall speed issues.[24]

Eclipse Aviation CEO Roel Pieper issued the following statement in response to the FAA review:[26]

"Without a doubt, this special review will uncover what we already know - that the Eclipse 500 marks the safest new airplane introduction into service in 20 years, customer safety has always been a priority at Eclipse, and we look forward to this investigation dispelling any inaccuracies about the certification of this airplane for once and for all."[27]

The results of the certification review, released on 12 September 2008, indicated that the certification process was valid, but that the FAA and Eclipse Aviation "should conduct a root cause analysis" of the owner-reported problems with the aircraft's trim, trim actuator and fire-extinguisher systems. Further report recommendations addressed internal FAA processes that were not optimally handled.[28]

Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell responded to the review report saying:

"This review tells us that while we made the right call in certifying this aircraft, the process we used could and should have been better coordinated. These recommendations will be invaluable as we continue certifying these new types of aircraft."[28]

House of Representatives investigation

A parallel investigation to the FAA panel was carried out by the US House of Representatives Aviation Subcommittee.[29][30]

The House Aviation Subcommittee heard testimony from the inspector general for the Transportation Department, Calvin Scovel, on 17 September 2008. He testified that FAA employees were instructed by FAA management and that a target date was set for the Eclipse 500's certification, regardless of the test flying results. "It was a calendar-driven process... with a predetermined outcome," Scovelis said.[29]

Scovelis testified that FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell recently stated that the FAA is also reviewing the production certificate that was awarded to Eclipse.[29]

US Representative Robin Hayes, (Republican, North Carolina) asked Scovel if the Eclipse jet is a safe airplane to fly. Scovel stated, "My office has no evidence that it is unsafe." Scovel added later in the proceedings that given the information that the FAA had on September 30, 2006, when the type certificate was awarded, "a reasonable decision would have been to defer the granting of the type certificate."[29]

The house aviation committee also heard on 17 September 2008 from a panel of current and former FAA employees. They stated that there was consistent pressure from FAA management to meet the stated timeline for the Eclipse 500 certification to be completed. They were told not to look more than "an inch deep" during the certification process. In the same hearings FAA managers defended their certification practices and denied many of the employees' allegations.[29]

Europe

European Aviation Safety Agency certification for private use was achieved on 21 November 2008. It requires the aircraft to be equipped differently from the FAA certification, including the Avio NG 1.5 avionics system, a third attitude indicator and dual Mode S transponders.[31]

On 24 June 2009 EASA issued a statement suspending the Eclipse 500's type certificate, saying "The current Holder of the EASA Type Certificate EASA.IM.A.171 has been notified on 10 June 2009, of the Agency’s decision to suspend the EASA Type Certificate EASA.IM.A.171 with effect from 12 June 2009." No reason for the suspension was announced.[32][33] On 28 October 2009, EASA changed the name of the holder on the type certificate for the EA500 to Eclipse Aerospace, but did not reinstate it.[34]

Modifications

In early December 2006 and in March 2007, Eclipse announced in letters to customers a number of changes to the initial specifications, including:

  1. New fairings for the landing gear, wheel covers, and tail
  2. Control surface hinge covers
  3. Extended rudder and elevator, to eliminate Gurney flaps
  4. Improved lower engine nacelle panel aerodynamics
  5. Extended wingtip fuel tanks (+12 US gal on each side)
  6. Changes to engine FADEC software, to increase cruise thrust above 25000 ft altitude
  7. Overall weight increase of 79 lb with no change to full fuel payload or max useful load.

Together, these measures are expected to increase the cruise speed from 360 to 370 kn TAS and increase NBAA IFR range from 1055 to 1125 nmi. All aircraft, including the already delivered initial deliveries, will be upgraded to this new standard.[35]

June 2008 Grounding

Eclipse 500

On June 12, 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration issued Emergency Airworthiness Directive AD 2008-13-51 grounding all Eclipse 500s, following an incident at Chicago's Midway Airport.[36] According to a National Transportation Safety Board investigation, "the airplane was trying to land at Midway when the crew encountered a sudden shift in headwinds, which the pilot sought to counter by increasing power, the standard method. But when the pilot tried to cut power a few seconds later, as the airplane touched down, the engines began accelerating to maximum power." The pilots overshot, gained altitude and shut down one engine, eventually landing without injury or damage except blown out tires.[37][38]

Reports published on June 16, 2008 indicated that all 500s were compliant with the AD and cleared to fly again within one day of the AD being issued.[39]

The company indicated that the final solution to this problem was a software change to increase the throttle range and prevent an out-of-range condition.[40]

Production halt

Eclipse halted production of the E-500 in October 2008 at serial number 267, although serial number 266 was completed much earlier in the year. The company indicated that it lacked the funds to continue production or to refund customer deposits for the EA500 and 400 that were owed and are the subject of outstanding lawsuits.[3]

Total Eclipse refurbished aircraft

In March 2010 Eclipse Aerospace began offering refurbished EA500s under the brand name Total Eclipse. Company president Mason Holland explained: "In their rush to deliver the aircraft, the former manufacturer of the EA500 [Eclipse Aviation Corporation] delivered to owners an aircraft that was only about 85 percent complete. These aircraft were great performers, but still lacked several important features. We now have completed the design and engineering of the EA500." The used airframes now feature GPS-coupled autopilots and the Flight Into Known Icing equipment package and retail for US$2.25M.[41][42]

Eclipse Special Edition refurbished aircraft

In June 2015 the Eclipse Aerospace division of One Aviation discontinued the Total Eclipse refurbishment program and started a new program, designating it the Eclipse Special Edition (SE). The SE upgrades the production model Eclipse 500 to near-Eclipse 550 standards. Installed are dual Avio integrated flight management systems, anti-skid braking system, standby display unit, PPG glass windshields, improved interior and a new two-tone paint scheme. The SE upgrade package includes a three-year factory warranty and maintenance program, at a price of US$2.2M, including the provided base airframe to be upgraded.[43]

Operational history

The Eclipse concept was to bring a new economy to small jet aircraft and both the cost of acquisition and ongoing operational costs were considered in the design of the plane. Eclipse marketed the aircraft to general aviation aircraft owners who had not previously owned a jet, placing it directly in competition with high-end piston and turboprop aircraft. Eclipse's marketing efforts focussed on the aircraft's projected low service costs and comprehensive maintenance and support program for customers. Being able to land at over 10,000 airports in the United States, Eclipse and other VLJ manufacturers hoped that this would create an air taxi role for their aircraft.

In June 2008, Eclipse claimed to have a backlog of over 2,600 total orders for its Eclipse 500.[44] In May 2008, Eclipse announced that the price of the Eclipse 500 would transition to $2,150,000 due to a lower than projected production volume which resulted in expected efficiencies not being realized and higher production costs.[45][46]

At one time Eclipse offered the Jet Complete program, an aircraft management and support program.[47] It guaranteed private owners a fixed maintenance cost of $209 per flight hour for three years, if the aircraft was operated between 300 and 3,000 hours during that period. A similar Jet Complete Business program covered charter operators.[citation needed]

Deliveries

Although Raburn told customers in late November 2006 that he anticipated delivering 10 aircraft before the end of the year, his company was only able to get a single copy of its jet delivered on December 31, 2006.[48] The official delivery ceremony occurred on January 4, 2007, when the keys were handed over to its co-owners, David Crowe, an owner-pilot and the shared-jet cooperative group, Jet Alliance.[49]

At the time of bankruptcy filing on 25 November 2008 Eclipse had delivered 259 EA500s. Serial number 260 had been paid for on the morning of the filing and in advance of the filing, but the company refused to release the aircraft to its owner. The bankruptcy judge noted the fate of this particular aircraft and ordered that the company maintain it and insure it until its final disposition is decided. In the final judgement the aircraft was ordered released within five days of the closing of the sale of the company, but the sale was not completed due to the incomplete Chapter 11 procedure and move to Chapter 7. The aircraft was finally released and was registered to its owner on 4 June 2009.[1][5][50]

Deliveries by year
Year 2006 2007 2008
Number of deliveries 1[51] 98[51] 161[51]

Customer support reduction

On 20 November 2008 Eclipse announced a reduction in company hours for maintenance scheduling, technical services and customer care.[52]

Aviation Week & Space Technology noted that "regardless of technical support, several critical spare parts are no longer in inventory because many vendors have stopped shipping spares to Eclipse until they receive payment for past due bills. And they won't ship more spares to Eclipse except on a COD basis. Notably, only a few vendors will sell parts directly to customers because of previous exclusive supply contracts with Eclipse."[52]

In January 2009 all Eclipse factory support facilities were closed. In response at least one group of ex-employees set up a maintenance and support facility to assist the owners of the 259 aircraft already delivered by that point.[53]

Ceiling limits

In March 2011 the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive restricting operation of the entire fleet of EA500s to 30,000 ft (9,144 m) from its previous limit of 37,000 ft (11,278 m) and before that 41,000 ft (12,497 m). The AD was required because a build-up of hard carbon deposits on the engine static vanes caused at least six reported engine surge incidents, requiring pilots to decrease power on the affected engine. The FAA was concerned that this problem "could result in flight and landing under single-engine conditions" or if it affected both engines, a double engine failure. This action is considered an interim solution while the engine certification authority, Transport Canada and Pratt & Whitney Canada devise a more permanent solution.[54]

The situation was resolved in July 2011, with a new combustion liner design from Pratt & Whitney Canada that, once implemented, will raise the aircraft's ceiling back up to 41,000 ft (12,497 m).[55]

DayJet

DayJet Eclipse 500

DayJet was the Eclipse 500's largest customer, as at one time it had 1400 aircraft on order for use in the air taxi role.[56] Aviation analysts were doubtful whether the company's aggressive sales and production targets were feasible.[57]

On 6 May 2008 DayJet announced that it had scaled back its operations, laying off 100-160 employees in all segments of the company and selling or leasing out 16 of its fleet of 28 Eclipse 500s. DayJet founder and CEO Ed Iacobucci indicated at that time that the company needed USD$40M to reach profitability, but that the current economic climate did not permit the company to raise that amount. Iacobucci stated that the company proved that the operational concept is sound, but that the DayJet fleet of 28 Eclipse 500s needed to be quickly expanded to 50 aircraft to attain profitability.[56][58]

DayJet suspended all passenger operations on September 19, 2008. They cited inability to raise operating funds in the current market as one factor and also stated:[59]

The company’s operations have also suffered as a result of Eclipse Aviation’s failure to install missing equipment or functionality or repair agreed technical discrepancies in accordance with the terms of DayJet’s aircraft purchase contract.[59]

With 1400 500s on order out of a claimed order book of about 2500 aircraft DayJet represented 58% of all Eclipses that had been ordered.[56][58]

Eclipse Aviation announced in October 2008 that they are acting as "the exclusive broker" in the sale of the DayJet aircraft and advertised the entire fleet of 28 aircraft for sale.[60][61]

Canadian light aircraft fractional aircraft company OurPlane bid on the entire DayJet fleet of aircraft, offering more than "$500,000 each but less than $1.5 million" each, although the transaction was never completed. OurPlane operated a fleet of Cirrus SR22 aircraft and one Eclipse 500 up until its entry into bankruptcy in October 2010.[62][63]

Customer reception

Customer reception of the aircraft has been mixed.[64]

Despite some serious and expensive teething problems with many of the EA500s built so far, some pilots are quite enthusiastic about its flying characteristics and economical operating costs (although many other pilots consider it a dysfunctional mass of parts flying in loose formation).[64]

Some owner-pilots have been quite enthusiastic about the aircraft. In a September 2008 article Eclipse 500 owner Ken Meyer wrote:

In a nutshell, while you can say any number of things about Eclipse Aviation and its many missteps, the plane is a great plane. It is folks. And whether you like the manufacturer or not, the plane will be around for a very long time to come because it’s a very good, very efficient, very fast design.

You see, by the numbers alone, the plane is everything it was advertised to be...But what I didn’t anticipate was how much raw fun the Eclipse would be to fly. Sure, every airplane is fun to fly, but the Eclipse makes you feel like a fighter pilot. It handles like a Mooney with jet engines. Tight and crisp, a sports car of the air...

361 knots, cruising in jet comfort above the weather at 37,000 feet while burning just 209 pounds per hour per side, a total of less than 62 gph. Fuel efficiency: 6.7 statute MPG. Know any other jets that can do that? That’s better fuel efficiency than I was getting in my old piston plane!...

...Reliability? I’ve got over 40,000 miles on my plane since taking delivery in April. It’s had maintenance—there were several delivery squawks that had to be fixed—but not a single flight has been cancelled due to a maintenance issue. I flew to Mexico in July with an author and photographer onboard. In my previous plane, I’d have worried that the story and photos would be about our breakdown in a foreign country. In the Eclipse, I had no doubt whatsoever the flight would go well. And sure enough it did.[65]

Some aircrew flying the aircraft have been critical of the Eclipse 500, its systems and frequent failures. One corporate pilot who is captain type-rated in several FAR 121 and 135 aircraft and who has extensive flight hours on the Eclipse 500 said:

When I have to fly the Eclipse, I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next disaster to take place. For instance, I've been flying for over 30 years and have never had to go on emergency oxygen, except during routine training. Since flying the Eclipse, I've had to go on emergency oxygen twice now due to fumes in the cockpit and in the cabin. Eclipse seemingly has no idea how to fix these aircraft problems. Flying at 41,000 feet, you don't have much time to deal with these continuous, on-going, very serious issues. All I know is that every time I've had to fly the Eclipse, I'm truly scared.[3]

Operators

 United States

Specifications

Original cockpit layout of prototype aircraft
Engine inlet, with inset to show relative size of this small turbofan engine

Data from Eclipse Aerospace[71]

General characteristics

  • Crew: one or two pilots
  • Capacity: 4 to 5 passengers

Performance

  • Takeoff distance: 2,345 ft (715 m)
  • Landing distance: 2,250 ft (686 m)

Avionics

  • Avio Next Generation (aka Avio NG)
  • Displays: Two 768 x 1024 resolution PFDs and one 1440 x 900 resolution MFD

See also

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References

  1. ^ a b Thurber, Matt (January 2009). "On the heels of EASA certification, Eclipse files for bankruptcy protection". Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  2. ^ "What Went Wrong with Eclipse?". Flying Magazine. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  3. ^ a b c Di Piazza, Karen (October 2008). "Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia's First Eclipse Aviation Report". Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  4. ^ Niles, Russ (November 2008). "Eclipse Files For Bankruptcy Protection". Retrieved 2008-11-25.
  5. ^ a b Walrath, Mary F.: Order (A) Authorizing The Debtors to Sell Substantially All Of Their Assets Free and Clear etc. United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, 23 January 2009, Case Number 08-13031 (MFW)
  6. ^ Marsh, Alton K. (August 2009). "Sale of Eclipse approved by bankruptcy court". Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  7. ^ Over and Out v. Eclipse Aviation Corp. (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Delaware 2010-04-09) ("On August 28, 2009, the Court authorized the Trustee to sell the Debtor’s assets to Eclipse Aerospace, Inc., for $20 million in cash and a $20 million note. Once again, as a result of the Plaintiffs’ Limited Objection to the sale, the Court directed that $3.2 million of the sale proceeds be set asidepending resolution of this adversary proceeding. The sale to Eclipse Aerospace, Inc., closed on September 4, 2009."), Text.
  8. ^ Niles, Russ (October 2011). "Eclipse To Resume Production". AvWeb. Retrieved 11 October 2011.
  9. ^ Grady, Mary (15 April 2015). "Kestrel And Eclipse Join Forces". AVweb. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  10. ^ Clark, Heather (January 2008). "Eclipse Aviation Gets Foreign Investment". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-13. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "An Inside Look at Eclipse" Eclipse Aviation press release (last accessed November 29, 2006)
  12. ^ "Eclipse 500 Jet Achieves First Flight". 2002-08-26. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  13. ^ "Eclipse Aviation Completes Two Successful Flights of First Eclipse 500 Certification Flight Test Aircraft". 2004-12-31. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  14. ^ Eclipse Press release (last accessed April 10, 2007)
  15. ^ "Eclipse certificates new avionics, secures new financing". 2007-12-21. Retrieved 2007-12-22.
  16. ^ a b Joe Sharkey Big Battle in Small Jet Skies New York Times Tuesday, August 29, 2006
  17. ^ a b Karen Di Piazza No Throne Room on Eclipse VLJ: Real Issue or Media Hype? CharterX (last accessed Nov 29, 2006)
  18. ^ a b c Federal Aviation Administration (January 2008). "TYPE CERTIFICATE DATA SHEET NO. A00002AC". Retrieved 2008-07-16.
  19. ^ Eclipse Aviation: Eclipse 500 Maintenance Manual, 2006.
  20. ^ Grady, Mary (12 June 2013). "Eclipse Jet OK'd For Longer Life". AVweb. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  21. ^ "Eclipse Aviation Receives Production Certificate". 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  22. ^ Eclipse Aviation Corporation (June 2008). "Eclipse 500 Receives Flight Into Known Icing Certification". Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  23. ^ Levin, Alan (July 2008). "Feds look into Eclipse jet safety complaint". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-07-03.
  24. ^ a b Grady, Mary (July 2008). "Federal Officials To Investigate Eclipse Jet Safety". Retrieved 2008-07-03. Cite error: The named reference "AvWeb02Jul08" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ a b c d e f Di Piazza, Karen (July 2008). "Eclipse 500 Jet Safety Issues Investigated Exposed". Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  26. ^ Eclipse Aviation (August 2008). "The Eclipse 500: The Most Tested General Aviation Aircraft". Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  27. ^ McCarraher, Alana (August 2008). "Eclipse Aviation Confident in Outcome of FAA Special Certification Review". Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  28. ^ a b Niles, Russ (September 2008). "Eclipse Certification Upheld". Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  29. ^ a b c d e Grady, Mary (September 2008). "House Panel Investigates Eclipse Certification". Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  30. ^ United States House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (September 2008). "Summary of Subject Matter" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-09-18.
  31. ^ McCarraher, Alana (November 2008). "Eclipse 500 Receives EASA Certification". Retrieved 2008-11-21.
  32. ^ EASA (June 2009). "EASA Certification Information" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  33. ^ Pew, Glenn (June 2009). "Eclipse Loses EASA Type Certificate, Suppliers Lose More". Retrieved 2009-06-29.
  34. ^ EASA (Oct 2009). "EASA Certification Information" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  35. ^ Vern Raburn, Letter to Eclipse Customers, March 26, 2007, Reprinted by AVWeb
  36. ^ Federal Aviation Administration (June 2008). "DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Aviation Administration 14 CFR Part 39 AD 2008-13-51". Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  37. ^ Federal Agency Grounds Light Jet Used as Air Taxi, The New York Times, 13 June 2008.
  38. ^ Pew, Glenn (June 2008). "NTSB On Eclipse 500 Throttle Quadrants". Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  39. ^ AvWeb Staff (June 2008). "FAA Issues Emergency AD On Eclipse Throttles". Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  40. ^ Eclipse Aviation Corporation (June 2008). "Eclipse Aviation Readies Change to Software For Eclipse 500 Engine Fault Condition". Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  41. ^ Grady, Mary (March 2010). ""Total Eclipse" VLJs Now For Sale". Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  42. ^ "Total Eclipse Specifications". October 2013. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  43. ^ Grady, Mary (30 June 2015). "Refurbished Eclipse Jets Get An Upgrade". AVweb. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  44. ^ "ONE Aviation - Eclipse and Kestrel Are Now ONE". eclipseaviation.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  45. ^ Niles, Russ (May 2008). "Eclipse Goes Ahead With Single, Hikes Price Of Twin". Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  46. ^ "ONE Aviation - Eclipse and Kestrel Are Now ONE". eclipseaviation.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  47. ^ Eclipse Aviation (n.d.). "Jet Complete". Retrieved 2008-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  48. ^ Raburn, Vern (2006-11-27). "Eclipse Aviation Customer/Investor Update 11-27-06". AVweb. Retrieved 2006-11-29.
  49. ^ "Company second in U.S to deliver light jets". Associated Press. 2007-01-05. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  50. ^ Federal Aviation Administration (July 2009). "FAA Registry - N-Number Inquiry Result". Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  51. ^ a b c General Aviation Manufacturers Association (2008). "2008 General Aviation Statistical Databook & Industry Outlook" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-11-03.
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