Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn Discusses Impact of Technology on Aviation at Forbes CEO Forum

Vern Raburn, Eclipse Aviation's president and CEO talked about his company's strategy to leverage high-technology innovations and business practices to do no less than redefine aviation. His remarks acame at the Forbes CEO Forum at The St. Regis Hotel in New York City earlier this week. The forum is a high-level conference that brings together entrepreneurial visionaries and blue-chip CEOs.

Raburn participated in a panel discussion on "Technologies that are Changing the Global Landscape." The panel, which was moderated by Bruce Upbin, senior editor of Forbes magazine, also featured Gary Betty, president and CEO of EarthLink; John Fellows, CEO of DHL Americas; and Thomas Volk, executive vice president at Sybase. In a lively interactive session, the panelists discussed how their companies are using technology as a differentiator, and explored the key technologies for future growth.

When Upbin asked how Eclipse Aviation is leveraging technology, Raburn outlined Eclipse's vision to use strategies and innovations forged in the technology industry to revitalize general aviation and enable a new era of point-to-point travel. Raburn told the more than 100 leaders assembled in the audience that "Eclipse is benefiting from what Rich Karlgaard, Forbes publisher, calls 'the backside of Moore's law' - which states that technology that was very expensive at one point, becomes dramatically cheaper at the same performance point just a few years later."

Raburn outlined five areas in which application of technology differentiates Eclipse Aviation from traditional aviation companies, allowing the company to offer a business jet at about $1 million:

Total Aircraft Integration uses redundant computer systems and an advanced power distribution system to provide centralized control of all aircraft systems, enabling the Eclipse 500 to feature electronic technology previously found only in military and advanced commercial aircraft.

The Eclipse 500 was designed using Unigraphics 3-D computer aided design (CAD) tools. This provided the baseline on which engineers could analytically validate the aircraft design, and also enabled part and tool specifications to be exported directly to CNC milling machines and factory floor workstations for precision manufacturing. This sophisticated technology is similar to that used by Boeing on the 777, but is provided to Eclipse at less than 1/5 the cost per engineer. "This is a great example of the 'backside of Moore's law,'" Raburn said. "A new company like Eclipse is able to use methods that just a few years ago were reserved for only the largest companies."

Next-generation manufacturing operations, specifically friction stir welding (FSW), speed the Eclipse manufacturing process and dramatically decrease errors in comparison to traditional riveting. Invented in 1992, FSW "would not be possible without computers," Raburn said. "It just cannot be done manually."

SAP enterprise resource management software integrates all of Eclipse's operations efficiently, and extends this tight integration to Eclipse's supplier base worldwide.

Marketing and customer relationship management technology provides rich information and empowers customers to "self serve" as much or as little as they like. Raburn said, "We get customers who print the deposit agreement from the Web site and send it in with a $100,000 check, without ever speaking to a sales person."

Raburn acknowledged that Eclipse has the advantage of a "clean sheet of paper" to maximize the use of technology, which entrenched companies, including those in the aviation industry, do not have.

The Forbes CEO Forum is crafted to present insightful dialogue on the impact of economic, political and social change on global business. Participants enjoy an open exchange of ideas and debate with their colleagues and contemporaries. Other speakers at the Forbes CEO Forum included Brad Anderson, vice chairman and CEO of Best Buy; Rand Blazer, chairman, president and CEO of BearingPoint; Thomas McInerney, CEO of ING US Financial Services; and Stephen Roach, chief economist, Morgan Stanley.

The Eclipse 500 twin-engine jet is priced at $1,175,000 and is expected to begin customer deliveries in Q1, 2006. The company's order backlog exceeds 2,100 aircraft.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com