Eclipse 500
The Eclipse 500 is the manufacturer Eclipse Aviation in Albuquerque an airplane (New Mexico, USA). On 27 July 2006, it received the preliminary approval by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
Conception
The concept of Eclipse Aviation was to build a very light and fast, but economic Kleinjet for private and especially business flights. This should not be flown on up there due to insufficient runway length in question airfields, making a very large application possibility or distribution would have been given.
Certification
On 30 September 2006, the Eclipse 500 received full certification to the FAA for single pilot operation, visual ( VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR ), day and night flight and for a reduced minimum vertical separation from other aircraft.
The commercial approval in accordance with JAR OPS 1, was issued in 2008. On 21 November, the European EASA approval was granted - only four days later, on 25 November 2008, the manufacturer Eclipse Aviation went under bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. law. The trial commenced on 20 January 2009. On 5 March 2009, however, began the dissolution of Eclipse Aviation. An auction of the equipment was scheduled for August 2009.
Following the bankruptcy and liquidation was that EASA due unpaid fees exposing their approval for the Eclipse 500 from 1 July 2009. To ensure that no commercial flights with the type were possible in Europe. According to the EASA no Eclipse were 500 pending in the European registers in June 2009. However, at least the Spanish TaxiJet provider has a licensed copy in the U.S., with whom he wanted to offer an air taxi service.
According to the statement made by Eclipse Aviation At the time of certification were already 2500 orders before - before the manufacturer had to cease its operation, but only just over 270 copies were completed, of which 266 were mid-2009, still in use.
In the currently valid type certificate can be seen that the suspension with the 2nd edition has been withdrawn on 28 October 2009.
In 2010, Sikorsky Aircraft rose at an Eclipse with a minority stake and announced at the NBAA in October 2011 in Las Vegas known, the Eclipse 500 Eclipse 550 as modified slightly in 2013 to deliver again. The improvements are mainly related to the installation of a glass cockpit of Innovation Solutions and Support. The price of the machine program in 2013 will be 2.7 million U.S. dollars. The first machine (S / N 265) was handed over to a customer in the U.S. in October 2013.
Class of aircraft
The manufacturer called the Eclipse 500 very light jet, and as claiming to have created its own class of aircraft. With a retail price of about 1.67 million euros, or 2.15 million U.S. dollars and a very low starting weight hoped for the manufacturers to develop new markets. This includes new low-cost transportation services (air taxi) and the operation of small airfields, to which the commercial jet aviation was not possible before because of the short takeoff and landing runways. The U.S. Department of Transportation hopes that the VLJ relief of the major airports.
The aircraft has two turbines of the Canadian company Pratt & Whitney type PW610F. This should make it a maximum cruise speed of 685 km / h ( 370 kt / 0.64 Mach) reach. It is 10.2 meters long and has a wingspan of 11.6 meters. It provides the basic equipment next to the pilot up to four passengers; optional, however, the aircraft can also be equipped with an on-board bar, a toilet or a sixth seat. It requires a runway length of 715 meters and a runway length of about 686 meters. The range is up to 2408 km (for four people including the pilot, plus 45 minutes reserve). A service ceiling of nearly 12,500 meters ( 41,000 feet) makes it possible to largely avoid storms.
According to the manufacturer, the Eclipse was 500 in 2008, the quietest twin-engine jet in the world with the lowest fuel consumption. A complete Neuarchitektur avionics caused delivery delays. The existing development by Avidyne and its own product AVIO were exchanged. Together with Garmin, Honeywell and IS & S is the successor system AVIO NG is installed in the Eclipse 500 now.