Eclipse delivers first customer Model 500 | Aviation International News

Eclipse delivers first customer Model 500

After an extended gestation period and months of uncertainty about first delivery, Eclipse Aviation delivered its first production very light jet (VLJ).

By Harry Weisberger • Contributor

January 19, 2007

After an extended gestation period and months of uncertainty about first delivery, Eclipse Aviation delivered its first production very light jet (VLJ). When the FAA awarded an airworthiness certificate for the first production Eclipse 500 in the closing hours of last year the Albuquerque, N.M.-based tyro airframe manufacturer immediately initiated a virtual “delivery” in which the co-owners completed the documents via fax.

The aircraft registration was transferred to David Crowe (the first to place a deposit for an Eclipse 500 in 2000) and a California-based fractional ownership operation, Jet-Alliance. Crowe and Jet-Alliance CEO Randall Sanada arrived at the Eclipse plant for a formal delivery ceremony on January 4. As the first customer, the Crowe/Jet-Alliance partnership paid $995,000 for this Eclipse 500 plus $82,000 worth of optional equipment.

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