The Eclipse 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 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. Eclipse's marketing efforts focused on the aircraft's projected low service costs and comprehensive maintenance and support program for customers. Being able to land at over 10,000 airports in the
United States, Eclipse and other VLJ manufacturers hoped that this would create an
air taxi role for their aircraft. In February 2006, Eclipse won the
Collier Trophy as it was
”applying innovations created in the technology industry to drive down cost, increase performance, improve safety, and spur a new type of air travel — the air taxi”. Aviation media website, AvWeb noticed the aircraft was not yet certified, and that the Collier award should go to an achievement of which the value
"has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year”, while a revolution in air travel hadn’t happened yet after three years.
Market The EA500 original price was at $775,000, raised to $837,500 by mid-2001, then $1.175 million in January 2003, $1.295 million in May 2005 and $1.445 million in 2006. In July 2002, launch customer Nimbus canceled a 1,000-aircraft order, a week before the roll-out. Shortly after the August 2002 first flight, Eclipse decided not to proceed with the
Williams EJ22 turbofan, as it was too susceptible to bird strikes and the thrust was insufficient, to replace it with heavier engines up from , cutting range from and inflating
operating costs from 56 to 75 cents per mile. By May 2007, Eclipse claimed a backlog of nearly 2,700 orders. In May 2008, Eclipse announced that the price of the Eclipse 500 would increase to $2,150,000 due to a lower than projected production volume which resulted in expected efficiencies not being realized and higher production costs. Eclipse offered its
Jet Complete program to guarantee a maintenance cost of $209 per flight hour for owners flying 300 to 3,000 hours over three years, while the
Jet Complete Business was aimed at operators flying 250 to 1,500 hours annually.
Deliveries In late November 2006, Raburn anticipated delivering 10 aircraft before the end of the year. The first airplane to be delivered was certified by the FAA on December 31, 2006, and its keys were handed on January 4, 2007 to shared jet ownership company Jet-Alliance and David Crowe, an owner-pilot who purchased a share of the aircraft. In October 2008, production was halted at serial number 267 as Eclipse was awaiting funding and was unable to refund customer deposits while numerous lawsuits were filed by customers. No further Eclipse 500s were produced.
Bankruptcy On November 25, 2008, Eclipse Aviation entered
Chapter 11 bankruptcy. By then, 259 airplanes had been delivered, as creditors claimed $702.6 million and Eclipse estimated total liabilities at over $1 billion. In the 23 January 2009 judgement, the aircraft was ordered to be released. On 20 August 2009, Eclipse Aviation assets were sold to
Eclipse Aerospace. In October 2011, Eclipse Aerospace announced the
Eclipse 550 update to be delivered from 2013. In April 2015, Eclipse Aerospace was merged with
Kestrel Aircraft to form
One Aviation. A Chapter 11 reorganization process started in October 2018 but failed. In February 2021, One Aviation entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation, and
AML Global Eclipse maintains support for all Eclipse aircraft under the name Eclipse Aerospace, Inc.
June 2008 grounding On June 12, 2008, the
Federal Aviation Administration issued Emergency
Airworthiness Directive AD 2008-13-51 grounding all Eclipse 500s, following an incident at Chicago's
Midway Airport. According to the
National Transportation Safety Board investigation,
"the airplane was trying to land at Midway when the crew encountered a sudden shift in headwinds, which the pilot sought to counter by increasing power, the standard method. But when the pilot tried to cut power a few seconds later, as the airplane touched down, the engines began accelerating to maximum power." The pilots overshot, gained altitude and shut down one engine, eventually landing without injury or damage except blown out tires. Reports published on June 16, 2008 indicated that all 500s were compliant with the AD and cleared to fly again within one day of the AD being issued. The company indicated that the final solution to this problem was a software change to increase the throttle range and prevent an out-of-range condition.
Investigation of certification issues In June 2008 the
United States Congress tasked the
Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation with the investigation of claims by
FAA employees who have indicated that the certification process of the Eclipse 500 was flawed. Members of the
National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which represents FAA Aircraft Certification Engineers, have filed a grievance alleging that the type certificate was improperly issued by FAA managers over a weekend and that the aircraft had outstanding safety issues at that time. The FAA stated that it stands behind its certification of the jet. Then Eclipse CEO, Vern Raburn, stated the 500 was in "complete and total conformity" and that he considered the complaint an internal FAA issue between workers and managers. The concerns expressed by the union representing the certification engineers included: • that the FAA issued the 500 type certificate "without allowing FAA aircraft certification engineers and
flight test pilots to properly complete their assigned certification and safety responsibilities"; • FADEC issues, that indicated a loss of control of engine thrust could occur; • Designated Engineering Representatives, who reported to FAA program managers, were being pressured by Eclipse; • that, instead of taking action against the aircraft manufacturer for pressuring the DERs, the FAA management ignored complaints; • that, at the time of the issue of the type certificate, the cockpit displays were not in compliance with the FARs, suffered repeated failures and displayed incorrect data.
FAA special review On 11 August 2008, The
FAA started a 30-day special review of its certification of Eclipse 500. The certification review team was composed of personnel who were not involved in the original certification effort, and was headed by Jerry Mack, a former Boeing safety executive. The team was mandated to examine aircraft safety, certification of aircraft trim, flaps, display screen blanking and stall speed issues. In response to the FAA review, Eclipse Aviation CEO Roel Pieper stated:
"Without a doubt, this special review will uncover what we already know – that the Eclipse 500 marks the safest new airplane introduction into service in 20 years, customer safety has always been a priority at Eclipse, and we look forward to this investigation dispelling any inaccuracies about the certification of this airplane for once and for all." On 12 September 2008, the certification review indicated that the certification process was valid, but that the FAA and Eclipse Aviation
"should conduct a root cause analysis" of the owner-reported problems with the aircraft's trim, trim actuator and fire-extinguisher systems. Further report recommendations addressed internal FAA processes that were not optimally handled.
House of Representatives investigation The
US House of Representatives Aviation Subcommittee carried out a parallel investigation to the FAA panel. The House Aviation Subcommittee heard testimony from the inspector general for the Transportation Department, Calvin Scovel, on 17 September 2008. He 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.
"It was a calendar-driven process... with a predetermined outcome," Scovel said.
Customer support reduction On 20 November 2008, Eclipse announced a reduction in company hours for maintenance scheduling, technical services and customer care. In January 2009 all Eclipse factory support facilities were closed. One group of ex-employees set up a maintenance and support facility to assist the owners of the aircraft already delivered by that point.
Ceiling limits In March 2011 the FAA issued an
Airworthiness Directive restricting operation of the entire fleet of EA500s to from its previous limit of and before that . The AD was required because a build-up of hard carbon deposits on the engine static vanes caused at least six reported engine surge incidents, requiring pilots to decrease power on the affected engine. The FAA was concerned that this problem "could result in flight and landing under single-engine conditions" or if it affected both engines, a double engine failure. This action is considered an interim solution while the engine certification authority,
Transport Canada and
Pratt & Whitney Canada devise a more permanent solution. In July 2011, the situation was resolved with a new combustion liner design from Pratt & Whitney Canada that, once implemented, will raise the aircraft's ceiling back up to . ==Operators==