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.
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