The FAA has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise the requirement for function and reliability (F&R) flight testing to include turbine-powered airplanes with an mtow of less than 6,000 pounds.
Eclipse 500
March 31, 2010 - 7:34am
The FAA has approved North American Jet of Charleston, S.C., to fly its Eclipse 500 very light jets in single-pilot configuration. The approval came after upgrading
March 31, 2010 - 5:37am
Innovative Solutions and Support (IS&S) has added electronic chart and XM satellite weather display to the avionics upgrade it provides for the Eclipse 500. The company signed a contract with Eclipse Aerospace late last month to add the upgrade following FAA STC and TSO approvals.
March 30, 2010 - 5:40am
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) approved Eclipse Aerospace as its newest member, bringing the international trade association’s membership to 67. Albuquerque, N.M.-based Eclipse Aerospace is providing service for the fleet of more than 250 Eclipse 500s. The company acquired the former Eclipse Aviation out of bankruptcy in September.
February 23, 2010 - 11:11am
Before Eclipse Aviation declared bankruptcy and ended production of the Eclipse 500 in late 2008, the company manufactured about 260 of the very light twinjets.
Of these, some 30 were equipped with Avio NG avionics. At press time, seven aircraft had been upgraded for full flight-into-known-icing (FIKI) and Avio NG 1.5 avionics. It’s fair to assume that eventually all of the remaining “NG airplanes” will be upgraded.
January 26, 2010 - 5:14am
Eclipse Aerospace has grown to more than 60 employees since purchasing the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation on September 4, and the new company is meeting its plan to supply parts and provide upgrades to Eclipse 500 VLJ owners.
January 12, 2010 - 12:23pm
Eclipse 500 air-taxi operator Linear Air and High Performance Aircraft Training (HPAT) yesterday announced that they have partnered to provide Eclipse 500 pilot training under Linear Air’s FAA-approved Eclipse training program. Linear Air will continue to offer pilot training at its facility at Hanscom Airport in Bedford, Mass., either in an owner/operator’s airplane or in one of Linear Air’s.
December 28, 2009 - 9:46am
The prognosticators may claim that the very light jet era is over, but the investors who paid $40 million (half in cash up front) for the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation think otherwise.
December 23, 2009 - 9:57am
Eclipse Aerospace has grown to more than 60 employees since purchasing the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation on September 4, and the new company is meeting its plan to supply parts and provide upgrades to Eclipse 500 VLJ owners.
December 23, 2009 - 5:59am
The comment period on the FAA’s proposed changes to Part 23 certification regulations governing very light jets (VLJs) has closed, and commenters on the proposal submitted approximately 30 opinions about the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM).
