27 Facts About Eclipse 500

Eclipse 500 is a marketing name for the Eclipse Aerospace EA500, a small six-seat American business jet aircraft originally designed and manufactured by Eclipse Aviation and later upgraded and sold by Eclipse Aerospace.

Eclipse 500 became the first of a new class of Very Light Jets when it was delivered in late 2006, and won the prestigious Collier Trophy in February of that year.

Production of the Eclipse 500 was halted in October 2008 due to lack of funding and the company entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 25 November 2008.

Eclipse 500 then entered Chapter 7 liquidation on 24 February 2009.

In October 2011 Eclipse Aerospace announced a new version of the aircraft, the Eclipse 550, which replaced the 500 in production, with deliveries starting in 2013.

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Eclipse 500 is based on the Williams V-Jet II, which was designed and built by Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites in 1997 for Williams International.

Williams had not intended to produce the aircraft, but it attracted a lot of attention, and Eclipse 500 Aviation was founded in 1998 to further develop and produce the aircraft.

The VLJ concept has been pursued by a number of manufacturers, and because the V-Jet II had been designed around one of the primary VLJ engines, Eclipse 500 believed it was an ideal design to refine and market.

Eclipse 500 cockpit has glass cockpit technology and an integrated avionics package.

At the time of its introduction the Eclipse 500 was the only general aviation jet on the market without a lavatory, a feature that many executives and other jet purchasers are used to having.

Passengers needing to relieve themselves on the Eclipse 500 will be required to bring along a portable container.

However, the new air taxi service companies, which made up the bulk of the Eclipse 500 orders, conducted surveys that showed that having a toilet is not a concern for most of their passengers.

Eclipse 500 received provisional type certification from the FAA on 27 July 2006, shortly after the aircraft's PW610F engine was certified by the Canadian authorities.

Eclipse 500 received its FAA production certificate on 26 April 2007.

Eclipse 500 testified that FAA employees were instructed by FAA management and that a target date was set for the Eclipse 500's certification, regardless of the test flying results.

US Representative Robin Hayes, asked Scovel if the Eclipse 500 jet is a safe airplane to fly.

In early December 2006 and in March 2007, Eclipse 500 announced in letters to customers a number of changes to the initial specifications, including:.

Eclipse 500 indicated that it lacked the funds to continue production or to refund customer deposits for the EA500 and 400 that were owed and are the subject of outstanding lawsuits.

In March 2010 Eclipse Aerospace began offering refurbished EA500s under the brand name Total Eclipse.

Eclipse 500 concept was to bring a new economy to small jet aircraft and both the cost of acquisition and ongoing operational costs were considered in the design of the plane.

Eclipse 500 marketed the aircraft to general aviation aircraft owners who had not previously owned a jet, placing it directly in competition with high-end piston and turboprop aircraft.

At one time Eclipse 500 offered the Jet Complete program, an aircraft management and support program.

On 20 November 2008 Eclipse 500 announced a reduction in company hours for maintenance scheduling, technical services and customer care.

Eclipse 500 Aviation announced in October 2008 that they are acting as "the exclusive broker" in the sale of the DayJet aircraft and advertised the entire fleet of 28 aircraft for sale.

When I have to fly the Eclipse 500, I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next disaster to take place.

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Since flying the Eclipse 500, I've had to go on emergency oxygen twice now due to fumes in the cockpit and in the cabin.

Eclipse 500 seemingly has no idea how to fix these aircraft problems.