GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
First flight of Williams engine two years late, but personal jet approval set for December
Engine manufacturer Williams International has begun flight testing its EJ22, barely two months before the planned first flight of the Eclipse 500 personal jet powered by two of the small turbofans. The 770lb-thrust (3.4kN) engine is being flown on a Rockwell Sabreliner 65 testbed.
Ground testing of engines for the first Eclipse 500, which will be rolled out on 13 July, is about to begin, says Eclipse Aviation chief executive Vern Raburn. The Albuquerque, New Mexico-based company hopes to fly the aircraft by the end of July and is aiming for US certification in December next year.
The airborne tests are being conducted at Reno, Nevada, with the EJ22 mounted on a pylon above the fuselage. Tests will evaluate engine performance, operability and relight capability. The engine on the flying testbed is "close to production" standard, says Raburn.
While thrust is meeting specifications, specific fuel consumption (SFC) is not. "SFC is not there yet, but we understand where the problems are. They are mechanical, not thermodynamic, and I'm confident we'll get there," says Raburn. Integration of the full-authority digital engine control system is going well, he adds.
Williams originally planned to fly the EJ22 in 2000, but the impact of the delay has been mitigated by Eclipse's decision to simplify the first aircraft to reduce costs prior to the first flight. The company hopes it will be easier to raise the money needed for production with a flying prototype.
The first aircraft will be unpressurised and will be used for development testing at low to medium speeds and altitudes, Raburn says. Certification tests will begin with the second, fully conforming, aircraft, which is being built and is scheduled to fly in October. There will be six flight-test aircraft and two ground-test articles, he says. In addition to many hours' component tests, six test engines have already accumulated more than 600h.
Much of the $220 million Eclipse has raised so far will have been spent by first flight, with a further $120 million required, but Raburn expects a successful flying debut to attract additional private investment. First flight will also release order deposits held in conditional "escrow" bank accounts.
Eclipse has modified its deposit programme to fund operations. From this month, Eclipse requires an initial payment of $97,500, with the remaining $52,500 payable after certification. Nimbus Group has until 30 June to make an $11.75 million deposit on its 1,000-aircraft deal, after Eclipse was unable to sell Nimbus stock options taken in lieu of payment. Eclipse announced a 112-aircraft order from European private jet club Aviace late last month (Flight International, 4-10 June). Delivery positions are available in 2006, and Eclipse says it has fleet orders extending into 2008.
Source: Flight International
