The one thing I love about the Eclipse is that the fuel bills aren’t far off my Baron bills for the same trip. You can burn more fuel in a Duke or C90 depending on how you’re flying.

I also love those small Pratt’s are rock solid reliable. I don’t think there’s been a single failure in the fleet yet, has there?

My wife won’t get on a single. Just won’t. Doesn’t matter what it is. She laughs at the CirrusJet Autoland Garmin video. She has no problem with me dying and pushing the “East button.” But she still doesn’t want to get in one.

I’ve gotten her in an Eclipse many times. I still have the “new airplane” itch. The Eclipse is at the top of my short list.

Wasn’t it Jason C who said that the average jet trip was like 312 miles?

Which of these 2 planes makes the most sense then?

There is a pretty good sized pool of used Vision G1 jets out there (limited to 280) at about 2.0 million, which would bring the cost delta down some. It would also be very interesting to see a similar video comparing the Eclipse to a Mustang ... that would make for some interesting discussion. As Mustang prices decline and fully-upgraded Eclipse prices have stabilized at 1-1.2 mm (based on what a friend who flies one tells me), these two aircraft are going to be an interesting comparison. Textron would win on service in that comparison, methinks - although my friend also tells me parts issues have really calmed down of late.

But I don't see any way around the fact that the Eclipse is the most cost-effective light twin jet out there. I'm guessing the Mustang's numbers are a little bit higher.

On the avionics side, the Eclipse avionics (version 2.7) are slated for an upgrade from IS&S this fall to get synthetic vision and allow the auto throttles to remain on until minimums (now it disconnects when the gear come down). However, no VNAV function on the A/P as far as I know (I could be wrong). And these are the only two VLJs with auto-throttles which is very interesting and a point not made in the video.

Really fun video however!!

You’re not wrong.

That long promised Synthetic vision upgrade is finally coming?

Arlen
Let’s do CDW to BHB 338 miles now probably the worst place to fly a jet cause you will not in my experience fly higher than Fl210 but I am using Fl190 for comparison

Cirrus
1:13 hours and 122 gallons

Eclipse
1:04 hours and 107 gallons

I have a contract for synthetic vision and auto throttles from take off to touch down to be installed this summer.

You’re not wrong.

That long promised Synthetic vision upgrade is finally coming?

IMHO not even in the same league. You can’t compare engine out performance. One is headed for the ground while the other is safely and comfortably headed to an alternate enroute airport with the Air Conditioning on and the stereo playing.

I think he should have put one more column in for comparison labeled "family prefers".

Often times it's our wives and families that weigh in on a decision like a plane purchase. My guess is that one would have swung towards the Cirrus.

I admittedly haven’t followed this story for a while but who is still supporting Eclipse aircraft with One Aviation in bankruptcy? Is the parts business separate?

Chris
One Aviation is almost out of bankruptcy and supporting the fleet.
A Chinese company bought it and plans to develop a new version of the plane
With Garmin avionics a longer fuselage, wings and the motors that the SF50 has.
If it happens it will be a rocket ship with a expected 1500 mile range

Also theirs a separate company Resurgent Aviation Solutions which is run by the former head engineer of Eclipse which is supporting the fleet also with rebuilt parts and improvements.

For example he has come up with better batteries that will revise the battery only starting limitation from 40 degrees to 0 degrees as soon as the STC comes thru

There’s also talk about getting more power out of the engines like Embraer has done with the P100 but we will see.

Your “IMHO” gets my vote. That’s why the airlines don’t run SE operations.

I recently joined EJOPA at the urging of a friend and Eclipse owner... the new parts company has apparently made a big difference in parts availability. And Eclipse went into Chapter 11 reorganization not liquidation - they never stopped providing parts and service. The COVID has slowed down emergence and final creditor deals but it looks like they will emerge here fairly soon. Whether they can ever realistically get the Canada certified is a different story - but from what I can tell, if they do, it won't have IS&S avionics.

The syn vis/auto throttle upgrade is 20k and IS&S already has a fair number of deposits. Those will be good upgrades. It's a shame that VNAV is not among them. However, the COVID has probably slowed down FAA final approval so the installation dates may slip - and again, I could be wrong on that. I hope they stay on track for the pilots' sake.

The Eclipse does a lot right in terms of flight deck/aircraft integration and ease of single pilot operations. Performance is excellent for a VLJ. Fuel economy, as noted above, is remarkably good. Cabin is small but nice - most operators remove 1-2 seats. My friend has removed 2 seats and insures his as a 4-seat aircraft to save more $$ (its usually just him and his wife). Hard to beat Textron for customer support, however... and the Mustang is a rock-solid platform, especially with the NXi upgrade you've got a state of the art panel. Two good choices in those aircraft.

I like the Cirrus too, especially the G2. However, it is limited by design to turboprop altitudes and speeds. Nothing wrong with that, of course - I fly a Piper M600 and really like it! But it just can't be the same as driving something at FL400+ at 340-370 or 400+ knots with two nice blow dryers pushing you... Of course, you pay for all that (although the Eclipse makes you pay the least amount possible for it).

The auto-land and auto throttles are nice and the cabin is very, very nice. But for the same $3 mm (new) or $2.X mm (used), you can buy a lot of jet IMO, especially if you're flexible on avionics and airframe age.

Not much point in watching it, every comparison of "new This vs. used That" always comes out the same.

Does anyone have performance charts on the Eclipse they care to share?