Wow, what a difference a few weeks make... ANN's Aero-TV crews
spent some time in Albuquerque a few weeks back, before Oshkosh and
the startling events that occurred there -- and chatted up a number
of Eclipse owners/buyers about their thoughts about the airplane,
the industry, and the issues of the day. We present their
discussion for your perusal, and look forward to getting back to
some of these same people in the next year to see how their
answers, concerns and aspirations have held up as Eclipse remakes
itself -- post Raburn.
We covered some interesting ground... from the recently
announced Eclipse 400, to the price increase Eclipse instituted for
the Eclipse 500 twin jet program so that the company could work its
way to profitability.
The Eclipse 400, in particular, was on the tip of everyone's
tongue. After completing 10 months of extensive research on the
ECJ, Eclipse claimed back in May that they were "confident this is
the perfect aircraft for the emerging single-engine jet market. As
many of you have experienced firsthand, this jet inspires people.
It immediately captures their imaginations, and when they look a
little closer and begin to grasp the level of performance and value
it delivers – they are truly blown away."
Previous Eclipse customers were the first allowed to place
deposits on the 1.35 million dollar Eclipse 400. Public deposits
were accepted, for the first time, at EAA AirVenture 2008.
The Eclipse 400 will be powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada
PW615F engine. At an estimated 330 knots, it will use less than one
pound of fuel per nautical mile — making it the world’s
most fuel-efficient jet aircraft. It seats four and cruises at
41,000 feet, nearly four miles above its closest competition. It
will also feature the most sophisticated flight deck and complete
aircraft integration available in general aviation. The Eclipse 400
is priced at $1.35 million in June 2008 economics, and at last
report, Eclipse hopes to start delivering Eclipse 400 jets in the
4th Quarter of 2011.
With good news came some not so good news...
Eclipse raised the price of the Eclipse 500 to $2,150,000. The
company noted that the increase became necessary for Eclipse to
move forward on a financially-sound basis. The reality is that the
slope of their production ramp has been slower than they had hoped,
and this has impacted their ability to deliver this airplane for
the cost originally targeted. While they may have pursued many
other alternatives to rectify this situation, they decided that now
was the time to take this action to lower their break even point
and move the company toward profitability in 2009.
Since then, Eclipse has tightened its belt even more... making
tough decisions designed to hasten the company's recovery from its
current difficulties and to put it on a course that insiders assure
ANN will get them off to a more solid footing by the middle of next
year. In the meantime, let's listen to the folks whose opinion
about Eclipse matters most... the buyers of the airplane.
ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.20.24): Light Gun
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