ANN Flies The Eclipse 500... and The Eclipse Lives (Part 7 of
7)
By ANN Editor-In-Chief Jim Campbell
We flew a series of landings… Full-flap, no-flap and SFOs
(simulated flame-outs). A standard landing differs little from one
of my favorite airplanes… the Aztec. With 90-100 knots in
the bank, the pitch attitude on final is fairly nose-down,
providing a very good view of your touch-down zone.
The lightweight Eclipse holds its energy fairly well for
something of this size, but a slow flare to 10-20 feet off the deck
and a final 85-90 knot approach is best completed with idled power
and a slowly increased flare to a modest deck angle, followed by
the inevitable touchdown.
The E-500 boasts an appreciable amount of ground effect that
cushions the final few feet of the descent VERY nicely with no
attendant trim excursions. As the gear makes contact, a small
amount of additional aft stick will add to the deceleration
instigated by the spool-down, and light braking will glue the bird
to the deck. Roll-out, with a light cross (slightly higher, at
times, than our prohibition… ooops) was a total
non-event… requiring a quick touch of rudder, a little
in-wind aileron and modest braking. This gets thing slowed down
fairly well. These are not the most heart-stopping brakes in the
world, right now (and we've heard some criticism of them that we
don't quite agree with) but at the speeds this critter operates at,
brakes are not going to get that nasty a workout. I did not measure
a roll out with the one full-stop landing that was completed that
day… but the Eclipse expectation of 2000 foot landing rolls
is not unbelievable. The typical 3000 foot GA runway is going to be
child's play.
A no-flapper was flown down short final at 110-120 knots, with a
flare at 100… resulting in a decent attitude that offered a
bit more float than we'd seen in a full-flap approach and the need
for a more aggressive pitch attitude to "stick" the flare and
touchdown. Terry took over just once in the whole flight to demo a
solidly impressive SFO from a little over 2000 feet over the
threshold -- to plant the beast on the runway with impressive
ease.
Show-Off
Since the whole flight was being monitored by Eclipse's
extensive telemetry system and flight test eval staff, there is no
way I can con anyone into believing that I shot that particularly
landing. My actual attempt was ultimately successful but a bit
abortive since I was somewhat distracted by local traffic, the dog
ate my homework and there was a long-overdue library book that was
starting to weigh heavily on my mind. That's my story and I'm
sticking to it… though the landing, the final one of the
series was a greaser that I was glad I could take credit
for… even though the real work was done by Vern's
wunderjet-I just played the nut on the end of the stick…
convincingly.
Vern is right… landing the Eclipse is EASY -- and a
really enjoyable way to kill off a surprisingly small quantity of
petroleum products. It's as easy as an Aztec… and a heck of
a lot classier.
One final note… Let's talk about the that trailing link
gear… whomever proportioned and designed that aspect of the
Eclipse is THE GOLDEN GOD OF LANDING GEAR. I kid you not…
this is one of THE most forgiving sets of gear I have EVER rested
my ponderous posterior upon. It cushions light to modest descents
very well and will probably forgive some real thundercrunch
arrivals (which I did not test… for a change… even on
purpose). The gear boasts excellent energy absorption, tracks like
a slot car, and rides occasionally uneven pavement rather nicely.
The guy sipping the martini in the back is not going to get much,
if any, on his expensive tie. Part 135 operators are going to love
this bird.
Final Test Pilot's Summary
It is way too early to attempt to summarize any aspect of this
airplane outside of the fact that it seems very much on the right
track.
As to the big question... how does the critter fly? Damned well.
No kidding. I really enjoyed myself and became positively comfy
with the bird within minutes of departure. From a strictly flight
dynamics standpoint, I'd say that the Eclipse is well on it's way
to being the ultimate 'jet for dummies' -- for all the guys who
feared to tread in the flight levels... either because they were
short a few pence, or once thought that jet flying was 'really hard
or something.'
More important, the Eclipse flies particularly well in a really
boring kinda way... and is a hell of a lot simpler than most
(possibly all) light piston twins of our acquaintance. A long time
ago, Raburn told me he wanted to build a jet that was easier to fly
than a Baron... and he's (so far) done just that -- by quite a
bit.
The upshot of all this is that the Eclipse legitimately presents
itself as a novel transportation system that is truly much less
taxing to fly and manage than most light (piston) twins and
certainly any light twin carrying pressurization and/or known icing
capability.
One simple example... remember all that macho crap about jet
starting procedures? Spool this up, monitor that, turn fuel on
here, and try not to blow things all to hell (especially you jet
warbird drivers... and you KNOW who you are)? Well, Eclipse spoils
that, too. There are two three-position switches on the center
overhead panel staring you in the face... one for each engine. To
start a PW610F, you turn the switch to On/Start and then sit back
and look useless (a skill that I have mastered like no other person
in the world, let me tell you -- I AM SO qualified for this
airplane...) while the FADEC does it all. The worst part of this is
the eventual shutdown procedure... where you rotate the switch to
"Off" and wait for the quiet. The shame, the shame.... I may never
be able to wear my "Macho Jet Pilot" T-Shirt ever again. The whole
airplane (where possible) is being designed for such
simplicity.
Overall handling is obedient and somewhat agile but eschews the
kind of sensitivity that gets nervous novices into all kinds of
trouble, the PW610Fs are about as easy to operate as anything ever
built with a throttle (and perform magnificently), fuel burns are
equally impressive (your wallet is about to get a much-needed
break), visibility is good and occasionally very good, low-speed
behavior is docile, and (so far) devoid of perceptible threat, the
bird holds energy well and sheds it in a pretty modest fashion, and
the take-offs and landings are easily some of the easiest I've
undertaken with a bird with real live jet engines attached.
Mind you, this is so darned EARLY in the flight test program and
there is SO much more work yet to be done -- a lot of the systems
that we flew were yet incomplete, not ready for prime-time (and
occasionally hiccupping--which is a BIG part of flight test, no
kidding), or just getting finished up... but that disturbs the bird
not a whit. The thing I like best is that if all does go to hell,
the E-500 is a surprisingly docile stick and rudder flyer, all by
its lonesome, that should not overtly task anyone currently
competent in flying any of the new generation of high-performance
single engine airplanes, much less a multi. If all of technology's
wonders take a dive, the Eclipse has enough battery power to give
you basic info for a half hour or so, the FADEC locks in at the
last 'safe' configuration, the gear will free fall with a vengeance
(when released) and there ain't a hydraulically controlled bone in
the beasties whole bod (unless you count brakes). In other words,
while the bird is packed with the latest and greatest of
techno-goodies, their criticality to safety of (basic) flight is
not much of an issue. At the same time, the core of the Eclipse's
"brain," Avidyne's AVIO shows immense promise as a tool for
simplifying aircraft and flight management -- but good grief, what
a huge piece of engineering R&D this is going to take to
complete... especially, in time for certification.
While I am more aware than ever of a number of major obstacles
staring Vern's troops in the face (and please do note that we have
hammered HARD on this issue throughout this series), and the fact
that certification is possibly the least (sit back down, I'm NOT
kidding) of his real challenges for the future, I have to say that
the bird, itself, is on the right track. More; I haven't had
this much fun since learning about what you can get away with in a
High School closet with Renetta V when the homeroom teacher is out
to lunch.
The current short/sweet eval? In terms of handling qualities,
the Eclipse 500 is already delivering pretty much of what Vern
promised...
In terms of performance, I see excellent progress on speeds,
some real progress on drag reduction issues, a good start on giving
the airframe a needed diet, and workable programs to solve
remaining tech issues with the aircraft's development. At the same
time, any vendor or tech partner can throw a monkey wrench into the
works at any time... so the whole program is not exactly a sure
thing -- but an incredible balancing act involving exceptional
management, foresight, and planning.
An amazing collection of things have gone pretty much right up
til now (with the big exception of the Williams issue) -- but far
more (potentially) threatening issues remain in the offing. This is
turning into a tremendously fascinating but complex story... one
that promises, one way or another, to turn GA on its ear.
Stay tuned... we've been invited to come back to fly the
Eclipse, regularly, as the program matures and even help rack up
some hours on one bird that is to be dedicated to testing component
longevity and durability (and if ANYONE can test durability, it's
moi… I kid you not). So… we expect to offer a number
of updates as the Eclipse swoops toward certification, as well as
the Type Rating process later this fall -- since Vern has invited
me to come out and scare the hell out of the folks at United
Airlines (who will be conducting Eclipse transition and type-rating
training). I can't wait.
Suffice it to say that I liked my first look at the Eclipse -
finding myself, even after two hours, reluctant to bring the bird
back... because the Eclipse also does something that is rarely
championed among those who get to evaluate today's jets… it
was FUN to fly and a thoroughly enjoyable ride… and in the
end, that is a most important factor to anyone who wants to buy and
fly his very own jetplane.
The Eclipse is one cool little jetplane.... I had a ball.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.14.24): Maximum Authorized Altitude
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