Company Completes Certification Engine Inlet Icing Tests

Eclipse Aviation Corporation, manufacturer of the revolutionary Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ), today announced recent milestones furthering its progress towards aircraft certification in March 2006.

The company has achieved an important certification milestone by completing the required FAA certification testing for engine ice protection.  Eclipse's successful inlet icing tests of the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F has fulfilled all FAA inlet icing requirements for the powerplant system.  These tests were complete in Canada's National Research Council's approved icing tunnel located in Ottawa.  

In flight testing, aircraft N503EA recently expanded the flight envelope to 25,000 ft with the pilots operating in a pressurized cabin and shirt-sleeve environment.  Since April 1, N503EA has amassed 15.0 hours in 10 flights; the aircraft has accumulated a total of 33.0 flight hours to date.  An updated nose wheel design has resolved early nose gear shimmy challenges while retaining the aircraft's original excellent steering and maneuverability qualities.

Also this week, Eclipse revealed that it has completed initial engine testing and low speed taxi tests on its second certification test jet, N502EA, in preparation for flight test later this month.  The Eclipse 500 test fleet is comprised of seven aircraft, five of which will be used for flight testing and two airframes for static and fatigue testing.   

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com