Wed, May 31, 2006
Six Customer Aircraft On Production Line
They can see
certification on the horizon. That's the word from Eclipse
Aviation, as the company announced Tuesday its Eclipse 500 test
fleet has exceeded 2,000 flight hours, and has completed the
majority of required FAA certification testing. The company also
announced that six customer Eclipse 500 VLJs are in various
assembly positions on the production line.
"Our test fleet of five Eclipse 500s continues to burn test
points and build hours at a rapid rate. We accumulated more than
300 flight hours in the last four weeks," said Vern Raburn,
president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "I am also thrilled to see
the production line coming to life. Last weekend, the first
customer Eclipse 500 forward fuselage was mated to the aft
fuselage."
Sources with Eclipse tell ANN the company has made significant
accomplishments in aircraft testing. Recent milestones include
successful completion of:
- All installed-engine operational certification tests, including
engine operating characteristics, restarts, cooling and
ventilation, engine exhaust influence on airframe temperature,
vibration, negative-g and powerplant drainage
- Unusable fuel and hot fuel certification tests
- Cabin air smoke clearing certification tests
- Flight test points and data collection in support of Part 36
noise certification
- Climate control system certification ground testing
- All fuel system certification ground tests
Eclipse's production line now has six aircraft in various
assembly positions. P1 (above, below) recently completed fuselage
mate and is in position seven awaiting wing mate. P2 (bottom) and
P3 have been moved off the production tools and are in cabin
build-up. The next three (P4, P5 and P6) production aircraft have
completed friction stir welding and are in sub-assembly
build-up.
As Aero-News reported in March, P1 will be delivered to customer
David Crowe -- who had the honor of triggering some
of the first friction-stir welding work on
his airframe -- shortly after FAA
certification.
Eclipse says the 500 is on track to achieve FAA
certification by the end of this quarter -- just one month from
today -- which should make the six-passenger jet the first VLJ to
market.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All