Eclipse Aviation introduced an in-house mandatory training program for customers of its Eclipse 500 very light twinjet, which includes pilot qualification and supplemental training by the University of North Dakota’s aerospace department. Jet-transition and type-rating courses will be provided free of charge with each Eclipse 500 purchased. A mandatory type-training admission evaluation, conducted by UND, will cost between $500 and $750. The jet-transition course is slated to begin next summer and the UND-conducted third-party evaluation will be available starting in the fourth quarter of next year. The type-rating course and (for a fee) a mentor program will start at first customer delivery, scheduled for January 2004.
Training will take place at Eclipse headquarters in Albuquerque, N.M. In addition to the required initial training, Eclipse said that annual recurrency training is also mandatory. Failure to obtain recurrent training may void insurance coverage or increase insurance premiums, according to Eclipse. (Insurance is being provided by Short Hills, N.J.-based Global Aerospace, the firm that resulted from the merger last year of British Aviation Insurance Group [BAIG] and Associated Aviation Underwriters [AAU] in the U.S.).
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