The Little Eclipse Concept Jet That Almost Was

The Eclipse 400 Jet bears a strong resemblance to the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet.

Jason McDowell

Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at 11:42 AM ET

Verified

The Eclipse 400/Concept Jet performing at EAA AirVenture 2008 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. [Courtesy: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

The Eclipse 400, or Concept Jet (ECJ), was a single-engine, V-tail "personal jet" developed by Swift Engineering for Eclipse Aviation to gauge market interest, predating the similar-looking Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet.
Developed rapidly in 200 days, it first flew in 2007 and was unveiled at EAA AirVenture, attracting significant interest and deposits.
Its design shared similarities with the Vision Jet due to convergent engineering solutions for single-engine jet placement and tail configuration.
The Eclipse 400 program was ultimately canceled due to Eclipse Aviation's insurmountable financial difficulties and subsequent bankruptcy, leaving the sole prototype unflown and stored in a hangar.

See a mistake? Contact us.

At first glance, it bears a strong resemblance to the Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet. A sleek, low-wing, V-tail jet with a single engine mounted in a dorsal pod, the two aircraft share the same layout and look nearly identical. But in fact, the aircraft pictured is the sole Eclipse 400, and flew a full year before the Vision Jet’s maiden flight.

Initially known as the Eclipse Concept Jet, or ECJ, the 4,700-pound jet was intended to gauge market interest for a compact, four-place “personal jet,” and would have complemented Eclipse’s primary offering—the larger, six-place Eclipse 500. With their hands full with Eclipse 500 production, the company turned to a firm called Swift Engineering to engineer and build the smaller 400.