The current status of the 259 Eclipse 500 very light jets that were delivered before the manufacturer went bankrupt in February remains tenuous. Any airplane that is airworthy can fly, whether or not its type certificate is abandoned or belongs to a bankrupt manufacturer, but maintaining airworthiness becomes increasingly difficult when no parts are available, maintenance and engineering data is locked up in bankruptcy proceedings and previously ignored problems continue occurring.
Two companies have come forth so far, offering whatever maintenance services they can to try to keep Eclipse 500s flying. Eclipse 500 Services and Eclipse Aero Solutions are both based in Albuquerque, N.M., near Eclipse’s shuttered headquarters. Eclipse 500 Services says it is staffed by people who built and maintained Eclipse 500s. Eclipse Aero Solutions includes former Eclipse Aviation employees who worked in the service center, as well as Eclipse engineers.
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