At Saturday's public rollout of the new Eclipse jet (see related story), Eclipse boss Vern Raburn showed the world just what's been taking all his time lately.

As he told us earlier, the Eclipse is really "all new." Sure, it's a twin-engine jet airplane, made of metal. That kind of thing's been done before; it doesn't take long to come up with example after example. There are three things that make the Eclipse "new," though.

Engines

One thing Raburn says that makes the Eclipse "all new" is the new engine, the Williams EJ-22. It's been flown in test, and Raburn himself says it isn't 'perfect' yet -- but hey! It's been flown once. By the time it's certified and flying regularly, it will be every bit ready, delivering unprecedented thrust/pound of fuel/hour, and propelling the Eclipse quite well. Its development is on-time and on-schedule; and there's no reason to think it won't stay that way.

Manufacturing

Really "new" is the concept of manufacturing. Vern Raburn said, "There are some technologies that we're exploiting really well. [Metal] airplanes are maybe 70%, 80% or even more, made from stampings, pressings, bent pieces of aluminum. The Eclipse airframe is mostly machined. That gives us lighter weight, often stronger parts, a lower parts count -- and the fit is within .003 of an inch."

Manufacturing of other precision assemblies has been done that way for years; the airplane industry, though, due to the innate traditional designs and a high degree of conservatism in the industry, hasn't moved, until now. "Most of our parts are machined on 5-axis machinery. We even get lower scrap. Lots of parts are pilot-drilled for easier location in assembly. It's to a certain extent, self-jigging -- our assembly time is 'way low." Raburn extolled that kind of manufacturing, for volume especially, and compared it to the composite aircraft. "With a composite plane, in an assembly shop, you see all kinds of grinders, etc. -- that's to make it fit together. Ours: we just kind of put the parts next to each other, and they fit, and we have an airplane."

Back to contrasting with other metal aircraft: "We have changed the assembly so radically -- we don't issue our assemblers rubber mallets and shim stock," he laughed. Simply put, "We have changed the way airplanes are made."

Electronics

"We weren't about to build an airplane, especially from an 'electronics platform' point of view, the way some other competitors have," Raburn began. "This is the first truly all-electric GA airplane." Wha? "It's all electric," he said. "It's all integrated. Everything on this airplane, from nav lights to engine, to air conditioning -- is run through two central computers, that are aware of every condition on the aircraft. No mechanical circuit-breakers. There's just four current-carrying switches on the whole airplane." Unbelievable. Oops: "There's one circuit [with a load-carrying switch] for the cabin light; and there's two mechanical breakers, on the battery bus."

"We run four FADECs (two engines, with two redundant systems each)."

If there's trouble, the electronics take over. "The MFD shows each breaker that's open, the fault condition, and a checklist for that particular circuit." Right there; right now. Vern sees a lot of advantage to the glass in the cockpit, and the electronic approach, in general: "This will increase reliability, ease of use, decrease weight and cost, and increase safety," he says.

"It's all-electronic. Even, take the Fowler flaps -- ordinarily you'd have an interconnected mechanical system." Raburn then spoke of how, since the flaps extend along a good portion of the wing, the flap actuators themselves move different amounts at different stations, to keep everything straight, yet accommodate the taper of the wing and airfoil. Mechanically, it's a lot easier on a constant-chord wing, which the Eclipse isn't. "We have an electronic system, that talks among the actuators -- they're self-rigging; if one actuator doesn't talk to the others for a moment, the other actuators shut down, until the trouble is found." Each actuator is independently controlled, getting its commands from one of the two central computers, as each actuator is queried some 400 times a second. The computer makes sure all the actuators are working in harmony. If one isn't, the pilot is notified, with helpful suggestions.

It's called, 'Avio'

Avio(TM) takes advantage of today's digital electronics technology to place "intelligence" throughout the airplane, which is controlled by redundant central aircraft computers that monitor and control the aircraft's systems. Avio replaces the dozens of expensive instruments and gauges typically found in today's airplanes with a streamlined glass cockpit that integrates multiple functions and is tied into the electronics systems throughout the aircraft.

"Avio is one of the major innovations that make the low purchase price of the Eclipse 500 possible," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "Today's announcement just scratches the surface of what Avio will deliver. Avio is pervasive in the Eclipse 500 and will benefit many aspects of aircraft operation. We will unfold the complete story over the months to come."

The Eclipse is also, Raburn is pretty sure, the "first airplane under $35 million with a full auto-throttle system." He talks momentarily of the (larger-airplane) competition: It's a $250,000 option in a Falcon, or a G-IV. It's standard on the Eclipse." Raburn, who still manages to fly about 400 hours a year, says that, "on a non-precision approach, the pilot has to keep the speed stabilized, keep the airplane right side up, and keep it pointed in the right direction. The auto-throttle is safety: the computer keeps the speed, and therefore the sink rate, right; the pilot keeps the top side up." In what is designed to be flown as a one-pilot airplane, that's a lot of help.

Still, Raburn said, "This is not a fly-by-wire airplane; it's push-pull cables and pushrods." With all the electronics, why make it the "old fashioned" way? Because that way makes the most sense. The Eclipse is a small airplane, compared to the fly-by-wire machines we may reference in our minds, things like A340s, or even F-16s. Vern said, "Our cables run maybe 25 feet, and we don't need boosted controls; it's much easier to simply apply flight-envelope protection (a la Airbus, or even , to some extent, the F-16). We decided not to go fly-by-wire." Everything else is electronic, though: the gear, the flaps, the air conditioning.

Almost everything. The brakes are positively stone-aged, in comparison to the rest of the airplane. Why? There's no reason to complicate things, just to say they're "modern." The brakes, Vern says, "are just like on a Bonanza. No boost, no anti-skid." Why? "You don't need it. This jet lands," he reminded us, "just four knots faster than a Bonanza."

[ANN Thanks News-Spy Stan Cooper for the GREAT roll-out photo!]

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com