First Flight "Imminent"

Eclipse Aviation Corporation announced that its first certification flight test aircraft, the Eclipse 500 with tail number N503EA, rolled out today (Saturday). The aircraft features two Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PW610F turbofan engines and is scheduled for its first flight by December 31, 2004.

The roll-out marks the transition of the aircraft from Eclipse's manufacturing organization to the flight test organization, which will prepare it for flight testing. The roll-out occurred in an informal ceremony for Eclipse employees at the company's facility in Albuquerque, NM.

Vern Raburn, Eclipse President and CEO said, "Roll-out of N503EA is an important symbol of the real progress made in the Eclipse 500 program. Over the coming months, we will have five test aircraft flying as well as airframes for static and fatigue testing. The Eclipse 500 remains on track for FAA certification in March, 2006."

Rod Holter, VP Operations, said, "The assembly process went remarkably smoothly. In some ways it's hard to believe this is a pre-production aircraft. The precision of the aircraft parts and the tooling are remarkable. We've validated our advanced manufacturing processes and are confident in our ability to manufacture the production aircraft in volume."

Eclipse 500 Test Aircraft Fleet

Eclipse flew its first aircraft, N500EA, for the first time in August 2002 that was subsequently retired in October 2003 after completing a successful flight test program. Since then, Eclipse has been manufacturing an additional seven preproduction aircraft: one static test airframe, one fatigue test airframe and five additional flight testing aircraft.

Below is a breakdown:

• N500EA - (retired) completed aerodynamic and systems validation flight testing
• N502EA - FAA certification flight test, focus on aerodynamics and structures
• N503EA - FAA certification flight test, focus on mechanical systems
• N504EA - FAA certification flight test, focus on avionics and electronics
• N505EA and N506EA - beta test aircraft, accelerated usage testing

As previously noted by ANN some time ago, Eclipse announced a change in the manufacturing order for the next two aircraft, where N503EA would be manufactured and flown prior to N502EA.

Stay tuned to ANN for upcoming news of the Eclipse flight test program.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com