Production of the first Eclipse 550 very light jet (VLJ) has started at Eclipse Aircraft's plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The 550 supercedes the Eclipse 500, and the event marks the return to aircraft production after years of financial turmoil and instability.
Armed with an established supply chain, a new FAA production certificate, and a certified airframe, Eclipse is confidant of delivering the first customer aircraft in 2013. Initial plans are for low-volume production with the first aircraft taking approximately a year to complete as parts of the production line are re-tooled and validated during the process.
Full production for an estimated 50 to 100 aircraft per year is expected in 2014, paced by market demand.
Mason Holland, CEO and Chairman of Eclipse Aerospace said: “New production of the Eclipse Jet, that was the ultimate goal of EAI when we started this process two and a half short years ago. The excellent team at Eclipse Aerospace along with our strong supply chain partners have brought us back into the production market. I am simply humbled by everyone’s efforts!”
The new model Eclipse 550 twin-engine jet is built upon the Eclipse 500, but will be upgraded to include next generation aircraft systems for General Aviation jets such as auto-throttles, synthetic vision, enhanced vision, and a redundant flight management system.