Performance, Avionics Upgrades Will NOT Affect Usable Load

Editor's Note: ANN received word late Monday night of some positive developments from Eclipse Aviation. CEO Vern Raburn states the Eclipse 500 performance modification certification program moved into the final stage this week... and is on schedule for completion by mid-April. In addition, Raburn (right) says development of Eclipse's recently-announced Avio NG program is making "great progress", and is moving toward the scheduled completion this summer.

Below is the rest of the unedited text of Raburn's latest customer update... in which the Eclipse CEO states customers will NOT see a weight penalty from the latest enhancements.

Many of you have speculated about the impact of the performance modifications and Avio NG on aircraft weight. While these enhancements have increased weight in the aircraft, the only weight numbers that truly matter, full fuel payload and useful load, remain unchanged. That is simply because in addition to the weight increases from product improvements, we have made significant progress on weight REDUCTIONS throughout the aircraft. From the moment we received our Provisional Type Certification at AirVenture last summer we have had a corporate commitment to constantly improve the Eclipse 500, and one significant area of improvement has been weight reduction.

I want to make sure that you understand that the weights listed below are for the final Eclipse 500 configuration with the complete performance modifications (extended tip tanks and drag reduction modifications) and the complete Avio NG installed. Once again I want to re-emphasize that in spite of continued speculation about the existence of a "B" model Eclipse 500, this data represents the final configuration and weight that all aircraft will have both in new production and once all the existing aircraft have been retrofitted at Eclipse Aviation's expense.

Eclipse 500 Weights

The chart below defines the final Eclipse 500 configuration with the performance modifications and Avio NG installed. It is true that the weight has increased due to these changes, but our continuous improvement in both engineering and manufacturing engineering helped us to offset the impact. The final Eclipse 500 will meet the guaranteed useful load of 2,400 pounds and the full fuel payload also remains unchanged.

 

In an effort to keep you informed about Eclipse 500 developments, I want you to be aware of the weight changes, but please understand that these weight increases will not affect your operations. I can make that statement since the performance improvements have actually resulted in improvements in virtually all areas of performance, not just in the area of speed and range. As promised, we will release the draft AFM section 5 by the end of this month. This draft section 5 will show all of the operating performance of the Eclipse 500 in the final configuration and is based on a combination of analytics and actual flight testing.

Once again as I have committed to you in the past, ALL customer aircraft will be retrofitted at Eclipse expense to reflect these performance numbers. We are working every day to not only deliver your Eclipse 500, but also to make the Eclipse 500 a top-performing aircraft.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com