Vern Raburn Brings VLJ To Airventure 2005
Eclipse Aviation will feature the world's first public flight
appearances of the Eclipse 500, a new private jet that builders
hope will revolutionize air travel when it enters the marketplace
next year.
The VLJ flew into Lakeland Sun-N-Fun earlier this month, but did
not stage any flight demonstrations. That will change at
AirVenture, the jet-maker's CEO said Wednesday.
"Aviation enthusiasts around the world have been clamoring to
see the Eclipse 500 in action, and we think Oshkosh is the perfect
showcase, because of its huge audience and reputation for fostering
innovations," Vern Raburn, Eclipse Aviation's president and CEO,
told reporters on an EAA-sponsored conference call.
Raburn plans to exhibit the airplane on the EAA grounds
throughout the AirVenture event and to debut the aircraft in flight
as a prelude to the afternoon air show on Wednesday, July 27.
"AirVenture 2005 is the most appropriate venue for the Eclipse
500's public flight debut," said Tom Poberezny, EAA president and
AirVenture chairman. "We're proud to have served as the primary
stage for telling Eclipse's story since the company first announced
its plans at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2000."
Since that announcement five years ago, Eclipse Aviation has
maintained a prominent presence each year at EAA AirVenture.
That participation includes sponsoring forums, displaying aircraft
mock-ups and demonstrating the unique manufacturing process that
will help Eclipse bring state-of-the-art, high-performance private
jets to the marketplace at considerably lower cost.
"The Eclipse 500 will significantly expand the availability and
affordability of private-jet air travel, making general aviation a
more relevant and accessible travel option with what are often
called Very Light Jets (VLJ)," Raburn said. "We're pleased to be
bringing the airplane to, and flying it at, Oshkosh this
summer."
The addition of the Eclipse 500 flights to EAA AirVenture 2005
adds to an already-impressive schedule of aircraft drawing great
excitement at the start of aviation's second century. Other
notable attendees and aircraft include: the teams from Vulcan,
Inc., Virgin Galactic, and Scaled Composites that launched White
Knight and SpaceShipOne into the history books last fall; and Steve
Fossett and the team who last month accomplished the first nonstop,
non-refueled, solo circumnavigation of the globe in the Virgin
Atlantic GlobalFlyer.