Aircraft
Eclipse sees light of day as prototype preps for first flight
Under a bowl of scorching blue New Mexico sky, Eclipse Aviation rolled out the first Eclipse 500 at its Albuquerque facility on July 13–one big step toward

Under a bowl of scorching blue New Mexico sky, Eclipse Aviation rolled out the first Eclipse 500 at its Albuquerque facility on July 13–one big step toward confounding the skeptics who insist the startup company will never be able to deliver a certified six-seat twinjet at the promised price of $837,500. The next step will be first flight, possibly before you hold this magazine in your hands.

In stark contrast to the heated criticism his project has attracted from the established airplane builders, Eclipse founder and CEO Vern Raburn coolly continues to avow that everything is on schedule and in line with original plans set in motion when the Eclipse 500 was initiated three years ago.

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