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Thu, Sep 04, 2008

Aero-TV Ponders Some VLJ Questions... And VLJ Answers

Eclipse Buyers Talk About Their Decisions

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.

Join Aero-TV As It Ponders Some VLJ Question... And VLJ Answers

FMI: www.eclipseaviation.com, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews

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