After reading the whole sordid story of things between ANN and Cirrus I caught a couple of articles about Eclipse re-opening the doors and taking orders.

I realize that the opinions are many, as they relate to everything from the supposed short cuts through the FAA Certification Red Tape, to the constant battle with suppliers and the resultant law suits.

Despite all of that, I personally would have liked nothing more than for the VLJ Revolution to have been an overwhelming success. The prospects of flying one's own personal jet around the country / world, all while sipping fuel @ or near that of a twin piston powered plane, were quite appealing, albeit somewhat unrealistic.

All that being said, I remain ever the eternal optimist, hoping and praying that Eclipse will succeed, along with Cirrus and their V-Tailed Kerosene Burning Beauty

So, with no further ado, the press info on the Eclipse 550.......

http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=m ... 4cbed9bcf0


oh, and ......

No argument here; I'd love to see them all succeed: Diamond, Piper, Cirrus, Eclipse.

But I also think that the market is not there for all of them. Maybe for one or two.

They all suffer from payload/range issues considering the cost of purchase and operation.

I lucked into an opportunity to fly right seat with our CEO in the company Mustang last week. We keep the Mustang at Signature FBO at Houston Hobby.

As we were waiting for our plane to be pulled out we were checking out an Eclipse that was sitting right outside the door. Next to a Mustang it's small size stands out - even more so alongside the bigger hardware.

As we sat trying to match up pilots and passengers with the planes sitting on the ramp, a group of 5 that had been standing around got up and piled into the Eclipse. That caught me off guard but there were some smallish people in the group.

The last thing I remember hearing as we walked out to the Mustang was an older lady repeat three times, "that little jet is so cute, what is it?"

I don't know about you but I really don't want a CUTE jet .

If you have one you want to give away, PM me.

I'd like to see them do well too. Spent a lot of time looking at them; flew one and really liked it. Everyone I talked to was very complementary as to how it was to fly. I have always thought of a jet as being something that one purchases to fly high, fast and far. The far part was affected by the engine change. To me, it's just enough, but not what would be nice. From Dallas, I'd like to be able to go to San Diego or Orlando non-stop. It can make it with tail winds and maybe no wind, but any headwind means a stop with a full payload. I had the same issue with the Mustang.

I don't think Eclipse's issues are how the plane itself flies; it's more all the growing pains and question of future support. Also, it's still a young fleet. Remember how many changes the early Citations had. The initial training was quite substantial. It'll be a bit tough for the part time business pilot to stay proficient, but for those that can, it's a neat little jet <g>

Best,

Dave

I went to the Eclipse maintenance school back before the restructuring or ownership. In fact one of the guys in my class is now a part owner of the company. I went to the class during the day and spent evenings on the factory floor with the guys putting the planes together. I was impressed as it is a well built product. The QA on the aircraft was impressive. I saw several fuselage sections in the reject bins just because they had the slightest flaw in the friction stir weld process. Raburn's problem was the price point was just to low to begin with. I don't like the placement of some of the LRU's because they will be a major PITA to replace.I.e. AHRS on aft side of fwd bulkhead MAJOR PITA. All in all I do have to say it is a well built aircraft.

They are all nice and all but IMHO the only one that "should" make it is going to be a SE machine, Cirrus or something else. One larger engine will always be more fuel efficient than 2 smaller engines, MX costs will be some percentage less than two, training and owner/operator will have an easier time of it. Not to mention a lower purchase/finance price. If the engines are going to make up more than 50% of the cost of the AC then you will find yourself immediately behind the depreciation v. resale curve, where the current market is now for light piston twins.

Of course the problem is that an SE jet will have a hard time gaining acceptance in the commercial market and if it does have a 1500-1800 mile range some folks are going to want to go over water and the SE will be a turn off for that.

The eternal problem with aviation and aircraft design, the close formation of compromises that make up an airplane and what we want is not what we need.

Bob

Well, I just saw the new price will be $2.7 million; that'll leave a mark. Don't know how many they expect to sell at that price but the purchaser will have several good alternatives.

But, I guess that's better than the former strategy of losing money on each plane and making it up on volume

Best,

Dave

Well the order books are open, that's great. You can take 100k or so and send it to them for your 2013 delivery slot, or you could wipe your arse with it and flush it down the toilet.. in the later case you'll probably get something for your money.

I'm no math genius but if you lose money on _every_ unit no matter what volume you won't make it up...

I'm holding out for the Cirrus Or Diamond. Single engine is the way to on a plane this size.

I'm no math genius but if you lose money on _every_ unit no matter what volume you won't make it up...

You forgot the green.

Adam;

Well put. If the new Eclipse organization has any characteristic remaining other than the name from the old company, it is total folly. A friend took delivery in 2008 and flew with constant challenges (including pathetic avionics) and remarked after 1.5 years that dividing the loss he took on the sale by the hours flown would have equalied chartering a G IV for the same hours. At 2.4, way too many better jet options let alone prop options. Pilatus?

Actually, I don't see how they could NOT deliver on these positions. They already built over 200 of these, why wouldn't they build more? At the current price, they won't be loosing money on them for sure. Of course, the real question is whether anyone will buy at the current price. But that's another issue.

Besides, this is not a speculative, venture capital-based operation anymore. They are now owned (or partially owned) by Sikorsky, and these guys know what they are doing.