Vern Raburn Brings VLJ To Airventure 2005

Eclipse Aviation will feature the world's first public flight appearances of the Eclipse 500, a new private jet that builders hope will revolutionize air travel when it enters the marketplace next year.

The VLJ flew into Lakeland Sun-N-Fun earlier this month, but did not stage any flight demonstrations. That will change at AirVenture, the jet-maker's CEO said Wednesday.

"Aviation enthusiasts around the world have been clamoring to see the Eclipse 500 in action, and we think Oshkosh is the perfect showcase, because of its huge audience and reputation for fostering innovations," Vern Raburn, Eclipse Aviation's president and CEO, told reporters on an EAA-sponsored conference  call.

Raburn plans to exhibit the airplane on the EAA grounds throughout the AirVenture event and to debut the aircraft in flight as a prelude to the afternoon air show on Wednesday, July 27.

"AirVenture 2005 is the most appropriate venue for the Eclipse 500's public flight debut," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president and AirVenture chairman. "We're proud to have served as the primary stage for telling Eclipse's story since the company first announced its plans at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2000."

Since that announcement five years ago, Eclipse Aviation has maintained a prominent presence each year at EAA AirVenture.  That participation includes sponsoring forums, displaying aircraft mock-ups and demonstrating the unique manufacturing process that will help Eclipse bring state-of-the-art, high-performance private jets to the marketplace at considerably lower cost.

"The Eclipse 500 will significantly expand the availability and affordability of private-jet air travel, making general aviation a more relevant and accessible travel option with what are often called Very Light Jets (VLJ)," Raburn said. "We're pleased to be bringing the airplane to, and flying it at, Oshkosh this summer."

The addition of the Eclipse 500 flights to EAA AirVenture 2005 adds to an already-impressive schedule of aircraft drawing great excitement at the start of aviation's second century.  Other notable attendees and aircraft include: the teams from Vulcan, Inc., Virgin Galactic, and Scaled Composites that launched White Knight and SpaceShipOne into the history books last fall; and Steve Fossett and the team who last month accomplished the first nonstop, non-refueled, solo circumnavigation of the globe in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

FMI: www.eaa.org, www.eclipseaviation.com