Service Ceiling Restored, Cabin Ceiling Focus Of New AD

ANN April 1st Special Edition: The FAA has released an update to an airworthiness directive (AD), effective April 1, for certain Eclipse Aviation Corporation (Eclipse) Model EA500 airplanes equipped with a Pratt and Whitney Canada, Corp. (PWC) PW610F-A engine. The AD resulted from several incidents of engine surge. The engine surges may result in a necessary reduction in thrust and decreased power for the affected engine. In some cases, this could result in flight and landing under single-engine conditions.

File Photo

The initial version of the AD lowered the ceiling that the jets could operate from 37,000 feet to 30,000 feet to address at least six reported incidents of engine surges. The corrected version permits the jets to still operate at up to FL370, but requires that operators lower the height of the cabin ceiling from 37 inches to 30 inches. In a rare move, the FAA apologized for the confusion created by the initial version of the directive. "It was an honest mistake," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "When we heard the ceiling need to be lowered we naturally assumed the manufacturers were talking about altitude. Initially, we couldn't imagine the Eclipse cabin becoming any smaller than it already is."

Operators admit that in the past they have had to hunch over to board the diminutive jet. But with the new lower ceiling, pilots and passengers will have to literally crawl on their hands and knees to move around the plane. One aviation blogger said the AD brings new meaning to the acronym VLJ, which he said should now stand for "Very Little Jet," not "Very Light Jet."

NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen

Eclipse jet operators and the NBAA reacted immediately. "We love this little jet, but the new safety directive does little to address the root cause of the problem," said NBAA President Ed Bolen. "In addition, we feel that calling it a 'Very Little Jet' is pejorative. We're recommending instead that people adopt a new term for this class of jets. Rather than VLJs, they should be called HCJs, or Height Challenged Jets."

Just last month, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Eclipse Aerospace, Inc. announced the completion of a minority equity investment by Sikorsky in Eclipse Aerospace. Sikorsky reportedly will provide production restart services to aid Eclipse Aerospace in restarting production of the Eclipse 500 jet.
According to Mark Cherry, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Synergy for Sikorsky, the revised AD will affect Sikorsky's plan for their involvement with Eclipse. "We think the AD has merit. In a world desperately in need of new green approaches, we applaud the FAA's latest AD to lower the Eclipse's ceiling. To do our part, Sikorsky plans to voluntarily apply this AD to our entire helicopter product line, starting with the Schweizer 300CBi, which some critics have said couldn't be any smaller than it already it is. We're here to prove those doubters wrong."

FMI: www.faa.gov