Company Expands Operating Envelope; Confirms Jet's Superior
Low-Speed Handling
Eclipse has given ANN a look
at key findings from the past three months of Eclipse 500
flight testing. Aircraft 100 has now completed more than 30
flights, allowing Eclipse to examine the jet's low-speed
characteristics up to 200 knots at altitudes below 18,000 feet.
"Our advanced telemetry system enables engineers to view more
than 600 channels of data real-time in a ground station," said Vern
Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "This has allowed
our flight test program to advance at a faster rate than other
programs, providing a wealth of systems and aerodynamic performance
data that has fulfilled our requirements for Aircraft 100. These
results give us great confidence."
Aircraft 100 was built on production tooling and provides an
excellent testbed to confirm the aerodynamic characteristics of the
Eclipse 500. The test aircraft has been equipped with interim
engines to enable Eclipse to conduct the majority of the
aerodynamic development work prior to receiving the Pratt &
Whitney Canada PW610F engines that will be used on the production
aircraft.
Chief Test Pilot Cites Excellent Handling
The Eclipse 500 flight test program has analyzed low-speed
handling characteristics and systems operations including landing
gear operations and flap operations. Most recently, Eclipse
examined aircraft handling during stalls at various center of
gravity (CG) positions. In addition to determining stall speeds at
the forward and mid-CG, flight test engineers have collected data
on control surface effectiveness, control stick forces, aircraft
attitude and flow visualization of both wings' upper surfaces
during the stall and post-stall recovery. These tests demonstrated
the Eclipse 500's excellent low-speed handling and benign stall
characteristics exhibiting little wing drop, no force lightening
and no tendency for deep stall.
"I've led flight testing for a number of well known airplanes,
but I must admit that this airplane has been the best yet - I'm
extremely impressed with its docile handling and stall
characteristics," said Bill Bubb, chief test pilot at Eclipse
Aviation.
The remainder of Aircraft 100 flight testing will be completed
before year-end and will further investigate aircraft stability and
stall characteristics while moving the CG to the far aft position,
leading to an aerodynamic design validation prior to building the
next aircraft. Altogether, there will be eight test aircraft in the
Eclipse 500 test program, five further flight test aircraft and two
airframes that will be used for structural testing.
Maneuvers Put Eclipse 500 to the Test
Aircraft 100 has validated aerodynamics and systems in a variety
of conditions and scenarios including:
- Examination at speeds ranging from 200 knots to 67 knots,
including initial flutter testing up to 200 knots
- Testing in highly turbulent conditions and at altitudes of up
to 17,500 feet
- Pitot-static system calibration to establish the accuracy of
the air-data system
- Handling characteristics investigations throughout the speed
range, including acceleration to 2.5 g's
- Single-engine operations including engine in-flight
restarts
- Analysis of the landing gear operation throughout the speed
range, including emergency extensions
- Testing of flaps to their final maximum operating speed
- Operation of the fuel system and testing of both fuel transfer
and emergency fuel pump operation
- Engagement of the basic features of the Avio avionics system,
including system synoptic pages