ANN Flies The Eclipse 500... and The Eclipse Lives (Part 4 of
7)
By ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell
Time To Fly!
The day of our first flight in the E-500 was a bright one. The
warm New Mexico sun was already beating down on everyone at 0700
(an ungodly hour for yours truly… but hot airplanes and/or
hot girls DO tend to get my attention), making the day unduly warm,
and with the promise of more of the same, as the sun climbed into
the blue. Thankfully, I followed Terry around the pre-flight in the
shade of the flight test hangar and enjoyed the relative coolness
as long as possible.
There is little that seems inaccessible on the E-500. Engine
inspection is readily accomplished and only the horizontal stab
(due to the higher stance of the T-Tail) may require a step ladder
to do a once-over prior to flight. Since most of the jet is eye
level or less, a walk-around is not that rigorous an affair.
Entry comes via a single main entry door that measures
23.5-inches wide and is some 47 inches high. It is a two piece
machined clamshell assembly. The upper half opens first, augmented
by a single charged gas cylinder, while two cables provide support
for the lower door and the two retractable steps that promote
access to the cabin. A single rotating lever seats a series of pins
that secure the lower assembly to the upper door, and thereafter,
the upper door to the side of the fuselage. Visual inspection of
each pin is available via small viewing ports and the CAS will also
pipe up if the door isn't securely latched. The first step up is
manageable with little effort, and there is little (as far as I can
see in the test aircraft or the cabin mockups) to inhibit cabin
entry.
Our test aircraft is, of course, not currently representative of
the production seating arrangement, so no descriptions are germane.
Both front seats are mounted over a sturdy seat track of
considerable length and the seat is moved fore and aft via a side
mounted lever. The current seat can be raised and lowered to suit
the dimensions of the flyer… and yes, to the surprise of
many, I fit just fine. The cabin is 56 inches wide and some 50
inches tall at the center… though it narrows perceptibly at
knee level as the nose fairs in. This seems adequate for the kind
of light movement associated with a small aircraft but the squeeze
between the two temporary front seats can be a mite challenging for
those of us with the gut from hell. Once one learns the requisite
wiggle, and slides into either seat, the dimensions take on a far
roomier feel. Production seats and interiors will be a bit kinder
to the need to maneuver one's attributes back and forth to the
front seats and the seats themselves (as seen in the mockups) are
much better suited to positioning temporarily to allow proper
access. Fellow tubbies, you can relax, Vern feels your pain.
ALL Fueled Up, Places To Go!
A glisteningly N504EA was tanked up with a total of 1507 pounds
of fuel, leaving us with a ramp weight of 5620 after adding 440 for
pilots and gear (in sickening proportions that shall remain
nameless…). This put us some 60 pounds under our max ramp
weight and included most of the standard Eclipse interior and two
good-sized racks containing test instrumentation. Empty weight of
our test bird was 3673 pounds-nearly 300 pounds over the expected
certification EW of 3390 pounds. Throughout the proposed flight,
our CG was to remain fairly consistent, starting at 25.1%
mac… and changing very little from start-up to
shut-down.
We had a number of small gigs to deal with, since the bird was
part of a very active test fleet (which is apparently working 24
hours a day for the moment), but nothing that overtly limited the
scope of our flight. It was also the first manned flight of the
PW610F with a new FADEC software build (after ground runs the night
before)… which seemed to work reasonably well once we got
past a few initial test faults shortly after startup.
We had a few temporary limitations to deal with for this test
flight… and like most test flights in such well-organized
programs, the list was small and of little concern. We were
cautioned to be kind to the nosewheel in steering chores due to
previous abuse placed on it during testing. We were limited to
light turns, no more than 10 knots of crosswind, taxi speeds of
less than 20 knots while off the runway and were advised to avoid
compression loads on the main gear side braces. I am assured that
this was an issue only with our bird and that no such limitations
existed on the other test aircraft. Our aircraft was also flying
with inop de-icing (not that we'd have much need of that over
downtown Albuquerque in early July), and we were informed of a
small wedge that had been installed on the trailing edge of the
elevator in order to evaluate alternative shapes for potential
control force alteration.
But First… The Obligatory Excuses
Before I get too far into the flight test portion of this tale,
let me set out a few caveats. Evaluating the aircraft, overall, at
this point is a plainly unfair thing to do to such a complex work
in progress. For the nonce, I have decided NOT to (primarily)
evaluate the Eclipse 500 against other jets… for two
reasons. The first is that the Eclipse is not like any other
biz-jet we've seen thus far, so comparisons would be a misnomer (as
well as patently unfair… mostly to other biz-jets and
pretenders to the VLJ throne). The second comes from Vern's own
design rationale… in positioning the Eclipse 500 as a jet
replacement for piston twins. While many of my remarks are
quantitative and may be evaluated on their face, many more are
strictly qualitative… and in this case, they're aimed at
piston twin jocks of all persuasions. Where possible, I will
specify direct comparisons that seem apt… though your
mileage, preferences and experience may vary.
The Front Office
Strapped in and adjusted for best visibility, Eclipse N504EA,
seemed an interesting place to work from. There was plenty of
shoulder room for the moment, leg room was more than adequate and
head room was adequate once I adjusted the seat height to avoid the
top of the cabin while still remaining high enough to enhance my
visibility over the tall panel. Initial control familiarization was
somewhat surprising. Rudder pedals offer a wide range of movement
and require moderate mechanical inducement. The side stick, in the
grounded configuration, lies fully forward, weighted down by the
unsupported horizontal stab… which seemed fairly heavy to my
hand when motivated from its rest. Its control range is generous
and overt mechanical issues were hard to evaluate due to the weight
of the stab. Lateral movement is also fairly wide-ranging and
at-rest mechanical forces are fairly high in relation to piston
twin standards. The stick is quite tall (as compared to, say, a
Long-Eze, or an F-16) and when combined with the wide control range
available, this attribute offers excellent mechanical advantage
when required to deal with higher stick force requirements. The
side stick opens up the cockpit considerably and the effect is
fairly spacious. Best of all, its placement, on the forward end of
a narrow but quite convenient arm rest, provides excellent support
for the wrist and fore-arm, and offered NO fatigue issues
throughout the two hours I spent in that cherished left seat.
The small throttle pedestal seems a mite mis-positioned in that
it's not quite where one's arm naturally expects it to be, but I'm
hoping that adjustable production seating and/or arm rests will
ameliorate that subjective observation. The pedestal is pretty
small and offers up both throttles, the flaps (which are pulled out
of a very slight detent and placed in notches/slots that correspond
to predefined positions) and a speed brake… which is
actually not what you expect… since its actuation partially
deploys the gear (just a few inches) in order to create the
requisite drag. At the bottom of the throttle pedestal is a small
knob that turns to either side to implement rudder trim.
To Be Continued
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