Thu, Jan 19, 2006
Company Appears To Have Home Plate In Sight
When we last reported on the status of Eclipse
Aviation's test fleet in September 2005, ANN commented
the company -- with 500 flight hours accumulated among the fleet at
that time -- had hit a major milestone, but hadn't quite rounded
third base in its quest for home plate. Well, we can now report the
company is well past third... and looks to have its eye squarely on
the catcher.
Wednesday, Eclipse's fleet surpassed 1,000 flight hours test
hours in just over 750 flights. Not bad for the company that
started with one flying test airplane just over a year ago... and
has managed to accumulate 500 more flight hours in a shade
over three months.
"We designed the Eclipse 500 to provide our customers with an
unprecedented dispatch rate," said Eclipse President and CEO Vern
Raburn, "and we're experiencing the benefits of this commitment
firsthand as our test fleet achieves critical test points and
builds hours at an astonishing rate."
The Eclipse 500 test fleet is comprised of seven aircraft --
including five flying aircraft, one static test airframe and one
fatigue airframe. The static airframe successfully completed
certification static testing in September, 2005. Each of the
company's flight test jets has achieved a series of milestones in a
focused area of testing:
- N502EA is the aerodynamic and structures
certification test aircraft. This aircraft has completed tests for
flutter, stall characteristics, longitudinal and lateral handling
qualities, and performance development.
- N503EA is the mechanical systems and
powerplant certification test aircraft. This aircraft has completed
testing the powerplant installation, initial powerplant operating
characteristics, fuel system, pressurization system, environmental
control system, landing gear, flaps, foreign object damage (FOD)
and water ingestion.
- N504EA is the avionics and electronics
certification test aircraft. This aircraft has completed testing
for avionics development, powerplant drainage, smoke clearing, and
the interior and exterior lighting system. N504EA will also be used
to certify the communications/navigation system, the Flight
Management System (FMS) and the autopilot.
- N505EA is a beta test aircraft that has
completed lightning testing, attitude heading reference system
(AHRS) developmental testing and night flying evaluation. The
aircraft is currently undergoing high intensity radio field (HIRF)
testing in Patuxent River, MD, and will soon undergo function and
reliability testing. (The aircraft also, inadvertently, demonstrated the airframe's resilience in
a gear-up landing.)
- N506EA is a beta aircraft that has been
touring the southern US since last November, as part of Eclipse's
national tour to allow potential customers to see the airplane up
close. Six-Echo-Alpha has visited cities in Florida, Georgia,
Tennessee, Texas and California, and over the next month is
scheduled to go back to Florida and California, and then on to
Arizona and Nevada.
Eclipse currently expects to receive FAA certification for the
500 by May of this year, with customer deliveries to begin soon
thereafter.
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