Eclipse Jet

[Aviation Junkie]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2462/4103441233_209bb35b3c_o.jpg

[beeng]

I wonder what rich bloke chartered that one :P

Nice shot. Is it a crop or were you just that close :P

[Aviation Junkie]

Thanks! I cropped out a little bit of dead space, but not a whole lot. I was right underneath the approach path.

[bazzaboeing]

Another nice shot AJ, the gear just starting to go up? :D

Cheers Bazza.

[A2EVOMR]

I love the Eclipse, nice shot.

I had the chance to shoot one on arrival last week but it punked me and decided to be 3 hours late.

[tfaudree]

Nice shot. Terrible airplane.

[PhotosGuy]

Very nice!

[FlyingPhotog]

Nice shot. Terrible airplane.

Care to Elaborate?

[Aviation Junkie]

I love the Eclipse
Terrible airplane.

I've heard mixed opinions about the airplane. Most of the negative ones though seem to stem from when Eclipse went bankrupt. I wouldn't mind hearing what you guys think about the airplane though in more detail.

[Aviation Junkie]

Another nice shot AJ, the gear just starting to go up? :D

Cheers Bazza.

Yes. He shot the ILS to a missed approach.

[tfaudree]

Lots of promises, no follow through.

Customers were investors. Deposits were used for development of the airplane. No other manufacturer operates this way.

The aircraft are not approved for flight into known icing conditions. A jet that cannot operate in known icing conditions is pretty much useless in anywhere other than southern regions. When the aircraft was announced in 2000, they promised certification by delivery in 2004. In 2003, they changed it to 2006. In mid 2007, they changed it to end of 2007. In end of 2007, they said 2008. They're now bankrupt, so they're not lying anymore.

Aircraft were delivered with Garmin 496 handheld GPS units as the "primary" source of navigation. The "Avio NG" avionics package was pieced together from various components, few of which they were able to integrate successfully. The The 496 is a "reference only" GPS system, meaning it can't legally be used as a primary means of navigation. Besides, it doesn't integrate with the autopilot. They finally ditched the fancy flight management system and associated input device and put a Garmin 400 in it's place.

Most of the autopilot modes are inoperative. It will hold altitude and heading, and that's about it. It should fly full instrument approaches down to 200 feet just like every other jet aircraft in the air today.

Windscreens that crack far too often.

Faulty wing spar attachments.

Poor brakes and little tires. Has caused NUMEROUS tire blowouts.

Trying to sell a $2 million airplane for $1.2 million (under $1 million initially).

[Aviation Junkie]

Wow I didn't know that it wasn't certified for flight into known icing or the avionics thing.

I kinda know how that goes. The school I work for has airplanes all with the minimum required instruments and equipment for IFR plus GNS 430s, but the airplane is not certified for flight into IMC (Diamond DA20-C1). The 172s we use for instrument training have VFR GPSs in them. I don't see the logic in that... but I digress.

Yeah, handheld gps systems are not legal for IFR flight... at least none that I know of anyway.

Thanks for your input!