Congratulations on the L-39. Last fall I got an hour in the front cockpit at Jet Warbird Training Center in Santa Fe. It was a thrill. In a left turn over Cochiti Lake west of the airport, the instructor told me that if I did not steepen the bank, we would be in Arizona before I completed the turn! Aileron rolls were wonderful--smooth and effortless. . . .and the next day I got back into my Piper Warrior and poked back to Arizona at 90 kts. groundspeed.

I did my checkride there with Larry. Super nice guy ...

I love the L-39 but have only made 4 flights in it, including the checkride. I hope to be home tomorrow and go burn a bunch of Jet-A.

Did original Eclipse start out as a scam? No, but it quickly became one. They took deposits on the 400, a plane they knew from day 1 would be impossible to certify. The contract said the deposits were to be held by third party escrow, but Eclipse took the $ and spent it on other things completely unrelated to the 400. The contract said you could get a 100% refund before a certain date, but Eclipse wouldn't answer the phones or return calls for people wanting their $ back.

Don't act like they were above board and would have succeeded if not for a couple third party vendors not delivering on promises ....

Yes, google "the little engine that couldn't" air and space magazine, it gives the history. The prototype was retrofitted and flew with actual cruise missle engines to get by after they ditched Williams. The second prototype that was being built was scrapped and the third and on (and production) were redesigned and used the Pratt 610s.

Eclipse protoype flew in 2002, with Avidyne glass. I don't know when Garmin first approached airframers with G1000 but it wasn't in the field until da-40 in 2003. In hindsight they should have gone with g1000 over entegra. But neither had any track record in service so I don't know how they would have known g1000 would dominate. Cirrus also picked Avidyne of course.

Byron

Eclipse had a deposit schedule that was dependent on making timeframes for a first flight. That may have had something to do with pushing for a Williams prototype.

Ted: I closely followed that. Had a friend that purchased the right to one and sold that right for a profit. Bout the time I got serious, they changed the agreement. They had a first refusal right on all deposits and they could make capital calls on escrow holders without set benchmarks. I do escrow agreements all the time in RE transactions. This basically said they would let you know when to send more money and good luck if you didn't. I could purchase a used, proven plane. Not quite the performance, but IT WAS FLYING AND CERTIFIED! The avionics thing was nuttso. If something broke or didn't work, you had to replace the entire thingy! Then a friend that y'all would know had flown it and shared some info with me. So, I purchased my lowly KA and am living happily ever after. Very sorry for those that put up deposits and lost them. I take a LOT of risk in my company where I really know what's going on. I buy stuff that's proven and works.

Best,

Dave

I think your opinion is misinformed, in part because Ted misled everyone on this forum.

He started with a core element of truth--Eclipse charges more for parts than customers think they should, and the company has some monopolistic maintenance policies. If he'd stopped right there, he'd have made a good contribution, and we could have a fair and balanced discussion about the plane and the company that backs it.

But he didn't. He went on to say all kind of things that were completely inaccurate about the Eclipse and Eclipse Aerospace. And he said he was kicked off the Eclipse owners site for saying bad things about Eclipse and Eclipse Aerospace, telling BeechTalk members that the Eclipse Owners Club doesn't tolerate open discussion. Actually, Ted was kicked off for nasty personal attacks, including, I learned yesterday, reference to a website address "www.masons[admin edit].com." Mason Holland is the CEO of Eclipse, and Ted has been openly unhappy with him for a while. Whatever the beef between them, that kind of posting is unacceptable behavior anywhere in the civilized world.

He didn't do you any service. He got kicked off the Eclipse Owners Club and decided to take out his frustration right here on BeechTalk with a nasty rant against his former plane and its manufacturer as well as his former fellow owners.

Ken

I think you just crossed a line. Also, that website doesn't exist.

So what you're saying is……. Everyone at Eclipse is talking about this thread?

Oh god 25 pages only to find out Ken is back

As someone mentioned once before; the one who stirs the S H I T pot should have to lick the spoon.

Always wondered what TR does to be such a baller! Did not know it was the porn business.

If I say something nice about Eclipse right now, can I get a ride in one?

Ken, you son of a gun, you DO have a Creepy Crawler don't you!

Ken,

There was nothing nasty about Ted's post..and until now I was inclined to think the same about you. That you were merely an Eclipse enthusiast bordering on an Eclipse cheerleader. Well, now you have pulled your skirt up.

Character assassination by association is dishonest and at least for me you have lost any credibility you may have previously enjoyed.

Best of luck to you.