Service Ceiling Restored, Cabin Ceiling Focus Of New AD
ANN April 1st Special Edition:
The FAA has released an update to an airworthiness directive (AD),
effective April 1, for certain Eclipse Aviation Corporation
(Eclipse) Model EA500 airplanes equipped with a Pratt and Whitney
Canada, Corp. (PWC) PW610F-A engine. The AD resulted from several
incidents of engine surge. The engine surges may result in a
necessary reduction in thrust and decreased power for the affected
engine. In some cases, this could result in flight and landing
under single-engine conditions.
File Photo
The initial version of the AD lowered the ceiling that the jets
could operate from 37,000 feet to 30,000 feet to address at least
six reported incidents of engine surges. The corrected version
permits the jets to still operate at up to FL370, but requires that
operators lower the height of the cabin ceiling from 37 inches to
30 inches. In a rare move, the FAA apologized for the confusion
created by the initial version of the directive. "It was an honest
mistake," said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. "When we heard the
ceiling need to be lowered we naturally assumed the manufacturers
were talking about altitude. Initially, we couldn't imagine the
Eclipse cabin becoming any smaller than it already is."
Operators admit that in the past they have had to hunch over to
board the diminutive jet. But with the new lower ceiling, pilots
and passengers will have to literally crawl on their hands and
knees to move around the plane. One aviation blogger said the AD
brings new meaning to the acronym VLJ, which he said should now
stand for "Very Little Jet," not "Very Light Jet."
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen
Eclipse jet operators and the NBAA reacted immediately. "We love
this little jet, but the new safety directive does little to
address the root cause of the problem," said NBAA President Ed
Bolen. "In addition, we feel that calling it a 'Very Little Jet' is
pejorative. We're recommending instead that people adopt a new term
for this class of jets. Rather than VLJs, they should be called
HCJs, or Height Challenged Jets."
Just last month, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Eclipse Aerospace,
Inc. announced the completion of a minority equity investment by
Sikorsky in Eclipse Aerospace. Sikorsky reportedly will provide
production restart services to aid Eclipse Aerospace in restarting
production of the Eclipse 500 jet.
According to Mark Cherry, Vice President of Corporate Strategy and
Synergy for Sikorsky, the revised AD will affect Sikorsky's plan
for their involvement with Eclipse. "We think the AD has merit. In
a world desperately in need of new green approaches, we applaud the
FAA's latest AD to lower the Eclipse's ceiling. To do our part,
Sikorsky plans to voluntarily apply this AD to our entire
helicopter product line, starting with the Schweizer 300CBi, which
some critics have said couldn't be any smaller than it already it
is. We're here to prove those doubters wrong."