"No Way In The World" Is Eclipse Interested in Columbia Bid

As soon as the word hit that GA heavyweight Cirrus Design was interested in wrestling fellow GA heavyweight Cessna for control of the pivotal assets of Columbia, the rumor mill went into overdrive. It was if the rumor-mongers decided that the pot wasn't stirred enough as it was... so all of a sudden the "E" word starts popping up as a possible suitor for Columbia.

E... Eclipse?

'Ya gotta be kidding,' said the pundits at ANN.

The biggest problem with really juicy rumors is that they're rarely based on fact (darn it)... as is this one. For the record, during an (always) interesting conversation with Eclipse Boss Vern Raburn, Vern skewered the rumor of the moment by positively pronouncing that "no way in the world" will he push for Eclipse to bid on the contested assets of Columbia Aircraft.

Raburn notes that he "has a full plate" in the process of seeing Eclipse through the initial pangs of production and getting the E-500's remaining tasks accomplished. Raburn reports that at the mid-point of the month, that production continues to make progress with nearly 20 airplanes done... and hopes that the end of year tally should exceed some 100 and possibly as many as 120 airplanes for the first full year of production -- certainly short of what he'd hoped for, but possibly still a record for a new manufacturer (and respectable progress for anyone if you look at the accomplishment objectively). Avio NG Certification is proceeding apace and may see approval within a month... and work was ongoing for FIKI certification as we spoke. Yeah... that seems like a full plate to us.

So... if not Eclipse, then who else might we see dive in?

Mooney has no dog in this fight and (reportedly) no cash to pursue it if they wanted to. Piper seems to have a full plate as well, with a new piston model coming through the pipelines over the next few months, not to mention the aggressive development requirements of the PiperJet... so they seem unlikely to join in the melee. But; the once mighty Raytheon/Hawker/Beech organization would seem to have the most to benefit from a Columbia acquisition... if they make the move, as they need a new generation of GA birds even more than Cessna or Cirrus -- especially with the competition presented by Piper's new Matrix.

We hear rumors of one or possibly two other bidders getting ready to make a move... so we'll keep you informed as to the progress of what will most assuredly now become a long drawn-out process.  

FMI: www.flycolumbia.com, www.eclipseaviation.com, www.newpiper.com, www.mooney.com