Eclipse 500
The Eclipse 500 (model EA500) is a very light jet (VLJ) originally produced by Eclipse Aviation of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. The company was founded in 1998 to develop the 1997 Williams V-Jet II demonstrator. The prototype first flew with Williams EJ22 turbofans on August 26, 2002. The engines were replaced by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610Fs in 2004 and Eclipse Aviation won the Collier Trophy in February 2006 for the design. A provisional FAA type certification was received on 27 July 2006 and the first delivery occurred on 31 December 2006.
| Eclipse 500 | |
|---|---|
| Role | Very light jet |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Eclipse Aviation/Eclipse Aerospace |
| First flight | August 26, 2002 |
| Introduction | December 31, 2006 |
| Status | Production ended |
| Primary user | DayJet (defunct in 2008) |
| Produced | December 2006–November 2008 |
| Number built | 260 |
| Developed from | Williams V-Jet II |
| Variants | Eclipse 550 |
The six-seat aircraft has an all-metal airframe with a T-tail and straight wings. It is powered by two turbofan engines in aft fuselage-mounted nacelles.
Production of the Eclipse 500 was halted in October 2008 due to lack of funding, after 260 aircraft had been delivered. On November 25, 2008, Eclipse Aviation entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, then Chapter 7 liquidation on 24 February 2009. In August 2009, Eclipse Aerospace bought the Eclipse Aviation assets, and announced the Eclipse 550 update in October 2011. Eclipse Aerospace was merged into One Aviation in April 2015, which entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in February 2021.
AML Global Eclipse maintains support for all Eclipse aircraft.