Investors in Raburn's 'Technological Transformation' Find Much To Celebrate

As the morning worked its way towards lunchtime, Eclipse selected several of their senior staffers to provide presentations on certain critical aspects of the Eclipse airframe and the future Eclipse support network. Most important, though, was an overall update on the progress of the aircraft's physical development. Matt Brown, the Avio project manager for Eclipse, brought everybody up to date on all things avionics, while Mike McConnell, the Vice President Of Sales And Customer Support talked about future maintenance and customer support issues for the Eclipse program.

But… it was the overall Eclipse 500 update, done up by Oliver Masefield, that was easily one of the most worthwhile presentations of the day. Masefield is a Senior VP/Senior Fellow for Eclipse and one of the brightest minds in the Eclipse universe. This is a very sharp guy who knows how to get to what everyone wanted to hear.

His system by system update on every aspect of the airframe was met with absolute silence as over 300 future Eclipse operators hung on his every word. One of Masefield's areas of concentration was his description of the electronic aspects of the Eclipse 500 (also detailed by Brown). Virtually every system in the Eclipse airframe is managed by a product called Avio. Avio is designed to be more than an avionics suite, and represents one of the most sophisticated efforts in light aircraft systems integration we've seen in an aircraft of this category.

The Avio system boasts something that Eclipse calls "total aircraft integration," which manages electrical power distribution, systems management and control, cabin condition, as well as more conventional avionics and automated flight programs. Virtually every aspect of the aircraft is controlled through Avio, while the overall health of the aircraft and its individual components can be monitored by the pilot via the big cockpit displays and ample annunciators. If anything is found to be heading down the tubes, it is brought to the pilot's attention as soon as possible -- and often before a situation goes from difficult to critical (and hopefully long before it evolves to "oh crap…"). Despite what some of the Eclipse rumors may say (and let's face it, there are a ton of them), we can confirm that the Eclipse 500 boasts multiple power sources and a fair amount of electrical and electronic system redundancy.

Great attention to individual componentry, and certain aspects of troublesome aircraft hardware that have been problem-prone in other designs have convinced the Eclipse design team to utilize hardware such as brushless motors and capacitance gauges to improve reliability. They've also elected to keep things as simple as possible, with a very conventional flight control system that utilizes pushrods, cables, and pullies, as well as simple electronically actuated trim systems that are controlled by brushless motors. The Eclipse 500 will be controlled by two side sticks on either side of the cockpit, which makes for a roomy environment for each pilot and contributes to a very airy feel when strapped in. Eclipse staffers were bragging about the fact that they designed a cockpit that can accommodate virtually any pilot, and that every system upfront has been optimized ergonomically - a pretty heavy boast for such a small airframe. Other creature comforts include the fact that both pilot and copilot seats are adjustable in both vertical as well as horizontal modes, both sets of rudder pedals are adjustable, and all upfront lighting is LED, even the flashlight.

When it comes to dealing with the Mother Earth, the Eclipse 500 landing gear will use a trailing link design, known for being brutally strong in most applications, as well as offering smoother landings to those who get a little bit abrupt in coming to terms with terra firma. The gear retraction system is also overtly simple. There are no complicated uplocks and only a single door to enclose the mains. Electromechanical actuators control the process, and in the event of a gear failure, the gear is designed to release and free-fall in an emergency (the thud of the gear free-falling into position is the ONLY thud you want to hear when you have a problem with your airplane…).

The Eclipse cabin is designed to be a pretty comfy place and expects to offer an 8000 foot cabin at altitudes of 41,000 feet, using an automatic pressurization system. The Eclipse 500 is the smallest jet, by far; to use a dual zone heating and cooling system... a system that can be maintained, even when handicapped by single engine operations. Eclipse just started talking about the interior a few months ago (about Oshkosh Time), and more details were provided at the conference. While the interior designs certainly look slick and do hint of the luxury that jet travel would seem to demand, Eclipse claims that the interior sound level of their bird will be very low, comparable to a Cessna CJ. They've elected to use all LED lighting, again, in the cabin, and a number of different seating configurations are available for the interior, some of which are convertible between flights (a strong consideration for future air taxi operators).

Despite the tight dimensions inherent in the Eclipse design (face it, this is no 747), Rayburn's design team has given quite a bit of thought to crash worthiness and safety. The aft part of the airframe has been designed in line with the FAA's latest thinking on rotor burst containment, while seats and structures are designed to be crashworthy and to offer as much protection to the occupants as possible.

One way to keep the cabin safe is to allow no fuel in the passenger cabin, while the combination of low aircraft weight and low wing loading tends to add to the safety margin. Finally, the Eclipse's fowler flap design does allow for fairly slow approach speeds and the elimination of some hazards inherent in higher-speed operation. By the way; Eclipse has elected to use a stick pusher to protect the unwary from inadvertent stalls.

Possibly one of the most enduring rumors and criticisms of the Eclipse program come from those pundits that claim that the Raburn cannot possibly produce the Eclipse for their announced purchase price. Well, the pundits may, ultimately, be right on this one... this weighty final hurdle may be Vern's undoing. Still, there is no question that everything that should have been accomplished, up until now, has been -- and in a fairly ingenious fashion. To those that opine that Vern blew it when he elected to build a metal airplane instead of a glass one, he claims that they selected aluminum over a composite design because it offered a higher level of automation as well as lower weight... even though it may have cost a little bit more to bring it to tool up for production. 

Their feelings on Friction Stir Welding have not changed (despite some intense industry negativity from those who have come to nickname the process "Stir-Fry Welding")... and the many criticisms of this program appear to be for naught, including the accusation that this process leads to higher potential for corrosion -- something that Rayburn indicates that his team has foreseen and overcome. Their use of friction stir welding has replaced 7378 rivets with 5354 inches of seamless weld... resulting in faster build times, stronger joins, and a (truly) better finish. Ultimately though, a simpler airframe, a lower parts count, a large number of (easily and cost effectively) machined parts, and the minimization of actual labor involved in the fabrication process may be what saves Eclipse's bacon.

To Be Continued (Monday morning)

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com