Eclipse Aviation received full FAA Type Certification for its Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet Sept. 30.
Full certification clears the airplane through its complete operating envelope, including single-pilot operation, day and night operations, flight under VFR and IFR conditions, and it completes RVSM certification. It also certifies the Eclipse as operating at noise levels substantially below the forthcoming Stage 4 limits.
While provisional certification – in effect, design approval – was granted in July at EAA AirVenture, with full certification the company can start to deliver customer aircraft “shortly,” according to company spokesman Andrew Broom. More than 2,500 orders have been placed so far, he said.
The certificate was presented during a gathering of customers, investors and employees at the Eclipse headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M.
“In spite of the hurdles we’ve encountered and those that still lie ahead, this is a day to reflect on what has been accomplished,” Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn told the crowd. “We successfully launched a new aviation company, developed and certified a truly revolutionary aircraft and created a whole new market segment that helped return relevancy and growth to general aviation.”
The Eclipse 500 can cruise at 370 knots, carries up to six occupants, and has a maximum range of 1,125 nautical miles.
It is “designed to land at more than 10,000 airports around the United States,” Broom said, adding that it is setting records for low noise, engine emissions and cabin sound.
In other news, construction recently began on the company’s Northeast service center at Albany International Airport in New York. Slated to be fully functional in mid-2007, the Albany facility is one of seven centers in the continental U.S. that will be dedicated to the maintenance and support of the Eclipse 500.
In early October, Eclipse’s service center in Albuquerque received Part 145 Repair Station Certification.
For more information:
