...And Did It While Burning Less Fuel

Few would describe Eclipse Aviation as a "humble" company. While it's true the Albuquerque, NM-based planemaker has had to eat crow lately on its production promises, there are indications the company is working out the bugs, and growing into its fighting weight... while producing a capable little plane in the process.

Hence, it was with the mindset "it ain't bragging if you can do it" that Eclipse told ANN Thursday of its recent accomplishment: setting a National Aeronautic Association (NAA) performance record that, for the moment, distinguishes the Eclipse 500 as the industry's fastest jet aircraft weighing 10,000 pounds or less.

The Eclipse 500 beat the existing US national speed record for VLJs on October 7, 2007 on a flight from New York (Westchester) to Atlanta (Peachtree-Dekalb), with a new record time of one hour, 55 minutes, and eight seconds (1:55:08), averaging 393.32 miles per hour (341.79 knots). Eclipse notes the previous record holder -- a Cessna Citation Mustang -- set the record on September 22, 2007, flying the same route in two hours, 23 minutes, and 44 seconds (2:23:44), averaging 318.87 miles per hour (277.09 knots).

The NAA requires the record to be broken by at least one percent to qualify. Eclipse says its plane, flown by company Senior Fellow Don Taylor, exceeded the previous record time by 20 percent... while using approximately 25 percent less fuel that the larger Mustang.

Using actual aircraft data, as well as data obtained from the Citation Mustang's flight planning guide, Eclipse says the Mustang used 1,330 lb (198.5 gal) cruising at FL400, while the Eclipse 500 used 987 lb (147 gal) cruising at FL320.

"Upon reviewing the previous record, I was extremely confident that the Eclipse 500 could defeat the speed, but more importantly, we could use significantly less fuel while going faster," said Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn. "So two weeks later we flew the same route with the Eclipse 500 using at least 50 gallons less fuel than the Mustang and beating the time by about 27 minutes.

"With oil prices climbing, we are proud to offer the Eclipse 500 as the most efficient VLJ to move travelers from Point A to Point B on a quick, affordable and convenient basis," Raburn said.

The NAA announced a new record class exclusively for VLJs (Class C, Aeroplanes, Very Light Jets) in the summer of 2007. The group defines a VLJ as a jet-powered airplane with a maximum gross takeoff weight of 10,000 pounds or less, holding a standard airworthiness certificate, and capable of carrying four or more passengers. (This definition is of note, as Cessna's own classification of its Mustang fluctuates between "very-light-jet" and "light-jet," dependent on circumstances -- Ed.)

Each year NAA tracks dozens of new world and national aviation record attempts from numerous companies, certifying new records as the official record keeper for United States aviation and ratifying them with the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), the world air sports federation.

FMI: www.naa.aero, www.eclipseaviation.com