Also Unveils New Standard Radar, Touts NextGen Compliance Of Avio NG

After months of some less-than-pleasant news for Eclipse Aviation -- including an FAA Airworthiness Directive limiting the aircraft to two-person operation in VFR conditions -- it appears there may a light on the horizon for the Albuquerque, NM-based planemaker.

At a news conference Wednesday at AirVenture 2007, company CEO Vern Raburn and COO Peg Billson announced issues with the Pitot Static system are now resolved through a new Service Bulletin, which specifies an alternate method of compliance for AD 2007-13-11, the Airworthiness Directive limiting Eclipse 500s to VFR conditions, with a VFR flight plan and two pilots on board.

"This only takes about a shift's worth of work," Billson (above) said, "and it returns the aircraft to the full type certificate limits. I flew aircraft 41 with the mod here at 41,000 feet."

Eclipse engineers have also rectified issues with window cracking, by doubling the number of installation holes on the windshield and side windows. The modification will be incorporated into the production line starting with aircraft 74, and Billson says it should improve the current required replacement interval of 1,000 flight cycles to 1,500 cycles for the windscreen, and from 250 to 600 cycles for replacement of the side glass.

Billson also noted FAA certification for a series of modifications for the Eclipse 500 -- including larger tip tanks, a new tail bullet fairing, and other enhancements to improve speed and range -- is "imminent." Eclipse plans to install the modifications on early aircraft within a 12-month timeframe, at the company's expense.

One of the earliest Eclipse 500s, N505EA, is on display at AirVenture with the new mods in place.

Avio NG, And NextGen

The big question on many people's minds concerned the status of the Avio NG avionics system. Billson reports two aircraft have the new system installed -- one just flew for the first time this week, and is due to arrive at AirVenture Thursday -- and pilots report no major problems with the system in under three hours of flight testing. Eclipse hopes for certification for Avio NG by the end of October.

Eclipse also unveiled details about the Avio NG system's planned compatibility with the FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NexGen) integrated plan. Raburn said the Avio NG system is infinitely scaleable and extensible to fit the aircraft's needs into the future.

"The Eclipse 500 is essentially future-proof," Raburn said. "Avio NG is software-driven. The hardware is already there; this translates to infinite capability."

Raburn says the hardware installed in the plane can handle foreseeable upgrades in software, which is easily loaded through a USB port under the pilot's armrest. He said upgrades to the avionics suite would be more economical as a result. 

Avio NG's capabilities encompass the foreseeable changes in Air Traffic Control technology, Raburn said. The NextGen plan integrates use of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, (ADS-B) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) with other technologies to enable greater air traffic capacity and less airspace congestion.

These capabilities will allow pilots to see other aircraft on their own screens, rather than relying on a controller's radar screen. Raburn compared the role of the controllers to early long-distance Telephone operators, plugging wires into a circuit to connect two callers.

"We'll move separation from the controller to the cockpit," Raburn said. "Here's our dirty little secret. Radar is plus or minus two miles in accuracy. Those of us flying at high altitudes know the sky is not crowded. With this technology, we can increase the IFR capacity from 6,000-8,000 aircraft to four times that number. We're going to make a lot of Eclipse 500s, but not enough to fill that expansion."

Avio NG also incorporates Localizer Performance with vertical (LPV), a new instrument approach technology Raburn said will allow operators to fly Category I approaches to the threshold of virtually any runway in America.

New Standard Radar

Raburn (right) kicked off the discussion Wednesday by announcing Japan Radio Company, a marine radar and radio producer, will manufacture the new standard radar system for the Eclipse 500. JRC -- in business since 1915, and a mainstay producer of avionics electronics in Japan -- will produce the Eclipse-developed system as their first airborne radar.

The Honeywell unit standard in the Eclipse thus far will be available an extra-cost option, Raburn said.

"We're very, very, very satisfied with [the JRC's] performance so far," Raburn said. "We've been flying an old Cessna 210 with pods under the wings -- actually Eclipse nose sections -- with the Honeywell radar on one side and the Eclipse radar on the other side. We're really happy with the response were getting with this radar."

"This color weather radar system will provide pilots with exceptional weather system will provide pilots with exceptional weather situational awareness," Raburn said. "JRC is a leading manufacturer of aviation and communication equipment, and we are pleased to partner with them to continue Eclipse's guiding principle of innovation and ensuring the Eclipse 500 value proposition."

Bidding To Start Soon On S/N 38, Price Increase Announced

Rather than put money on a delivery slot, and wait.. and wait.. and wait.. Raburn says prospective owners can plunk down a refundable $5,000 deposit, and get in line to bid on an Eclipse 500.

Using a private label online marketplace powered by eBay, Eclipse will offer Eclipse 500 S/N 38 starting 11:00 am EDT July 30. Bidding closes at 8:00 pm August 10 -- and the winner's aircraft will be ready for pickup immediately as the auction closes.

But don't expect a low bidder walking out the door with a $500 very light jet. The Auction's reserve price is $1,600,945, or 95 percent of the aircraft's regular price.

Raburn notes S/N 38, on display at AirVenture (above), is a fully-loaded aircraft... and the auction reserve is inline with the new base price for an Eclipse 500, which will go up $75,000 on September 1. Raburn says the increase is needed due to "increased material costs and vendor costs."

The base price for a new-order 500 is now $1.595 million in June 2006 dollars.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, http://auction.eclipseaviation.com