Eclipse Aviation has accelerated its production schedule for the Eclipse 500 very light jet by seven months and announced plans for its customer-support network, an in-house program that would ultimately include seven centers. That would place a shop within one-and-a-half hours’ flying time from any U.S. Eclipse operator’s home base, the company said. At the NBAA Convention last month, Vern Raburn, Eclipse president and CEO, said he hopes to deliver the first Eclipse 500s “within hours of receiving certification” in March 2006.
Over the first 12 months of production, the company plans to build 260 aircraft. During the second 12 months, it will build 880 aircraft. This translates into earlier deliveries for 99 percent of current customers, he said. Under the new schedule, a customer who ordered an Eclipse during the NBAA Convention last month could expect to take delivery in February 2008. Before Eclipse accelerated the production schedule, an October 2004 buyer would have had to wait until September 2008. A company spokesman told AIN he expects the accelerated delivery schedule to stimulate new sales, since the lengthy lead time was seen as a deterrent for buyers. Current price of the Eclipse 500 (in 2000 dollars) is $1.175 million.
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