Six Customer Aircraft On Production Line

They can see certification on the horizon. That's the word from Eclipse Aviation, as the company announced Tuesday its Eclipse 500 test fleet has exceeded 2,000 flight hours, and has completed the majority of required FAA certification testing. The company also announced that six customer Eclipse 500 VLJs are in various assembly positions on the production line.

"Our test fleet of five Eclipse 500s continues to burn test points and build hours at a rapid rate. We accumulated more than 300 flight hours in the last four weeks," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "I am also thrilled to see the production line coming to life. Last weekend, the first customer Eclipse 500 forward fuselage was mated to the aft fuselage."

Sources with Eclipse tell ANN the company has made significant accomplishments in aircraft testing. Recent milestones include successful completion of:

• All installed-engine operational certification tests, including engine operating characteristics, restarts, cooling and ventilation, engine exhaust influence on airframe temperature, vibration, negative-g and powerplant drainage
• Unusable fuel and hot fuel certification tests
• Cabin air smoke clearing certification tests
• Flight test points and data collection in support of Part 36 noise certification
• Climate control system certification ground testing
• All fuel system certification ground tests

Eclipse's production line now has six aircraft in various assembly positions. P1 (above, below) recently completed fuselage mate and is in position seven awaiting wing mate. P2 (bottom) and P3 have been moved off the production tools and are in cabin build-up. The next three (P4, P5 and P6) production aircraft have completed friction stir welding and are in sub-assembly build-up.

As Aero-News reported in March, P1 will be delivered to customer David Crowe -- who had the honor of triggering some of the first friction-stir welding work on his airframe -- shortly after FAA certification.

Eclipse says the 500 is on track to achieve FAA certification by the end of this quarter -- just one month from today -- which should make the six-passenger jet the first VLJ to market. 

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com