Eclipse production faces new obstacle

Compliance issues put delivery of initial VLJ on hold

Eclipse Aviation's transition from development to production of its very light jet (VLJ) has hit another hurdle, with delivery of the first Eclipse 500 on hold while the company reworks the processes that ensure the aircraft conforms with its type certificate.

Eclipse halted efforts to obtain a certificate of airworthiness (CoA) for the first production aircraft (AC1) in mid-November, after a US Federal Aviation Administration review uncovered issues with its compliance with the processes and procedures used to build and test the aircraft. "The FAA did exactly what it was supposed to do," says Eclipse president and chief executive Vern Raburn. "This is not a build or quality issue, it's a process and test issue. We screwed up in the processes and procedures, not in the design and build. We did not do what we needed to do."

The "administrative quality escapes" identified by the FAA involved conformity to the aircraft build instructions and clarity of the functional test procedures. "They were not written comprehensively and clearly," says Raburn, adding: "We had some people who did not know what they were doing."

Eclipse is reworking and testing its quality process, and expects the FAA to return to the Albuquerque, New Mexico plant this week to restart the CoA process for the first aircraft. Raburn will not commit to a delivery date for AC1, but says the company plans to deliver 10 aircraft this year and 515 next year.

The delay comes as Eclipse is asking customers for a 60% progress payment on aircraft due for delivery by the end of June next year. The company says the payments are tied to the production schedule, with more than 30 Eclipses now in various stages of assembly.

Mike Press, president and chief executive of Single Pilot Jet Management, which claims to be the largest broker of Eclipse delivery positions with more than 50 sold, says he is comfortable that the company has the capacity and financial backing to meet its production schedule. Press, an investor in Eclipse who still expects to receive his aircraft (AC4) this year, says half of the position sellers were "tired of waiting".

Raburn says the process issues "are not fundamental systemic problems that will affect the company on a long-term basis". He expects Eclipse to receive its production certificate - key to achieving the planned rates - after the FAA has issued CoAs for an agreed, but undisclosed, number of aircraft.

The conformity issues are not related to previous wing attachment and window problems, says Eclipse (Flight International, 21-27 November). The company expected the test aircraft to return to flight late last week to complete testing of larger tip tanks and performance improvements.

Source: Flight International