Will Not Accept Role At ETIRC; "No Further Involvement" With
Company
ANN REALTIME UPDATE 08.14.08 2045
EDT: The situation regarding Eclipse Aviation appears to
be growing curiouser and curiouser. As questions about the
company's future plans continue to spin over Sunport Blvd, ANN
received word late Thursday evening company founder Vern Raburn --
ousted from his CEO role on July 28 -- has opted not to accept what
many viewed as a concilatory position at ETIRC Aviation.
"Two weeks ago at AirVenture, I announced my departure from
Eclipse Aviation, a move that was required by the investors to pave
the way for a new round of financing," Raburn writes. "I also
announced that I would become vice chairman of ETIRC Aviation
S.a.r.l., one of Eclipse’s investors and a key player in the
proliferation of very light jets in Europe and Russia.
"After further consideration of this position, I have decided
not to accept it. As a result, I have no further relationship with
Eclipse Aviation either domestically or internationally."
Raburn founded Eclipse Aviation in 1998. In his announcement,
Raburn adds he plans to stay close to the aviation world, through
his ties to a number of other aviation ventures... including the
ICON A5 light sport aircraft program.
Seemingly admired and reviled by equal numbers of industry
pundits and Eclipse customers, Raburn's total departure from the
company he founded is the latest in a series of jarring
announcements from Eclipse since AirVenture... and adds yet another
piece to what is quickly becoming a very complicated puzzle.
Stay tuned.
ANN REALTIME REPORTING
08.14.08 1410 EDT: Responding to a number of reports by
various media outlets -- both within and without the aviation
industry -- on Thursday Eclipse Aviation issued a terse statement
to the press, asserting the company has no plans to move production
outside the US.
As for more details regarding goings-on at the Albuquerque,
NM-based jetmaker... the company had little else to say.
"The executive management team is working diligently to develop
a plan to achieve operational excellence," the Eclipse statement
reads. "We are evaluating every aspect of the company and we will
announce a plan to profitability by the end of the month. Eclipse
also confirms it has no intention to move its production facilities
outside of the United States in contrast to some current media
speculation."
Rumors concerning the jetmaker's future have run rampant since
the eyebrow-raising ouster of former CEO and Eclipse founder Vern
Raburn two weeks ago.
As ANN reported, Raburn announced his own
removal July 28, at a press event that kicked off AirVenture 2008
in Oshkosh, WI.
Former "non-executive" Chairman Roel Pieper was named Acting CEO
of the company. Pieper (shown below) is CEO of Dutch-based ETIRC
Aviation,
which made a substantial investment in Eclipse in
January.
Since that announcement, Eclipse has laid off approximately 190
temporary workers on its production line -- spurring some to
question the company's financial health, and wonder if Eclipse
was on the brink of relocating production of the Eclipse 500
very-light jet to Russia, where Eclipse and ETIRC are in the
preliminary stages of building an Eclipse production line.
The planemaker also told customers that plans to upgrade older
Eclipse 500s to Avio NG avionics have been delayed indefinitely,
pending receipt of the latest round of funding. Refunds to
depositors who opted to cancel their orders,
in response to a May price increase, are also
on hold.
Furthermore, the company has not spoken publicly about its plans
for the recently-announced Eclipse 400 (below), a project
spearheaded by Raburn.
Eclipse formally offered the single-engine jet for sale to
its existing customer base in May, and starting
taking deposits from the general public at AirVenture.
Eclipse says it will not release further information regarding
its plans, or conduct media interviews, at this time... an
unusually tough stance for the company, and one that's likely to
only lead to more questions. Stay tuned.
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