Will Oversee Transition From Development To Production

With the FAA's provisional type-certificate for its Eclipse 500 VLJ in hand -- and the anticipated removal of that "provisional" qualifier VERY soon -- Eclipse Aviation is looking to the future... specifically, to the future of its production line. In order to insure the quality displayed with the first VLJs continues as production capacity ramps up, Eclipse announced Monday that Saul Pacheco has joined the executive team as vice president of quality.

In a statement to ANN, Eclipse said Pacheco brings extensive leadership experience in high-rate manufacturing and product quality. In his new position, Pacheco will be responsible for ensuring Eclipse 500 aircraft quality and airworthiness.

"We are excited to welcome Saul as our vice president of quality -- his leadership will be critical as we transition from a company focused on aircraft development to one in full production mode," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "We have a great team in place, and bringing someone with Saul's specialized experience on board is another definitive step in our strategy to build and deliver the world's highest-quality VLJ."

Pacheco was most recently the global director of quality and reliability for medical technology leader Medtronic, where he was responsible for all products released to the medical marketplace. At Medtronic, Pacheco led the evaluation of manufacturing processes, documentation, controls and procedures.

Prior to that, he spent 11 years with Motorola in a variety of manufacturing and quality management roles. At Motorola, Pacheco was distinguished as a member of the team that won the Detroit Diesel and Cummins Supplier of the Year Award for improving supplier quality in both 1999 and 2000.

As Aero-News reported, Eclipse received provisional type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for its very-light jet at EAA AirVenture 2006 last month. The company expects to achieve full type certification and production certification in the coming weeks, with aircraft deliveries following shortly thereafter.

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com