Will Not Accept Role At ETIRC; "No Further Involvement" With Company

ANN REALTIME UPDATE 08.14.08 2045 EDT: The situation regarding Eclipse Aviation appears to be growing curiouser and curiouser. As questions about the company's future plans continue to spin over Sunport Blvd, ANN received word late Thursday evening company founder Vern Raburn -- ousted from his CEO role on July 28 -- has opted not to accept what many viewed as a concilatory position at ETIRC Aviation.

"Two weeks ago at AirVenture, I announced my departure from Eclipse Aviation, a move that was required by the investors to pave the way for a new round of financing," Raburn writes. "I also announced that I would become vice chairman of ETIRC Aviation S.a.r.l., one of Eclipse’s investors and a key player in the proliferation of very light jets in Europe and Russia.

"After further consideration of this position, I have decided not to accept it. As a result, I have no further relationship with Eclipse Aviation either domestically or internationally."

Raburn founded Eclipse Aviation in 1998. In his announcement, Raburn adds he plans to stay close to the aviation world, through his ties to a number of other aviation ventures... including the ICON A5 light sport aircraft program.

Seemingly admired and reviled by equal numbers of industry pundits and Eclipse customers, Raburn's total departure from the company he founded is the latest in a series of jarring announcements from Eclipse since AirVenture... and adds yet another piece to what is quickly becoming a very complicated puzzle.

Stay tuned.

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 08.14.08 1410 EDT: Responding to a number of reports by various media outlets -- both within and without the aviation industry -- on Thursday Eclipse Aviation issued a terse statement to the press, asserting the company has no plans to move production outside the US.

As for more details regarding goings-on at the Albuquerque, NM-based jetmaker... the company had little else to say.

"The executive management team is working diligently to develop a plan to achieve operational excellence," the Eclipse statement reads. "We are evaluating every aspect of the company and we will announce a plan to profitability by the end of the month. Eclipse also confirms it has no intention to move its production facilities outside of the United States in contrast to some current media speculation."

Rumors concerning the jetmaker's future have run rampant since the eyebrow-raising ouster of former CEO and Eclipse founder Vern Raburn two weeks ago.

As ANN reported, Raburn announced his own removal July 28, at a press event that kicked off AirVenture 2008 in Oshkosh, WI.

Former "non-executive" Chairman Roel Pieper was named Acting CEO of the company. Pieper (shown below) is CEO of Dutch-based ETIRC Aviation, which made a substantial investment in Eclipse in January.

Since that announcement, Eclipse has laid off approximately 190 temporary workers on its production line -- spurring some to question the company's financial health, and wonder if Eclipse was on the brink of relocating production of the Eclipse 500 very-light jet to Russia, where Eclipse and ETIRC are in the preliminary stages of building an Eclipse production line.

The planemaker also told customers that plans to upgrade older Eclipse 500s to Avio NG avionics have been delayed indefinitely, pending receipt of the latest round of funding. Refunds to depositors who opted to cancel their orders, in response to a May price increase, are also on hold.

Furthermore, the company has not spoken publicly about its plans for the recently-announced Eclipse 400 (below), a project spearheaded by Raburn. Eclipse formally offered the single-engine jet for sale to its existing customer base in May, and starting taking deposits from the general public at AirVenture.

Eclipse says it will not release further information regarding its plans, or conduct media interviews, at this time... an unusually tough stance for the company, and one that's likely to only lead to more questions. Stay tuned.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.etirc.com