Eclipse Jet Officially Back in Production

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, June 05, 2012 at 08:47 PM ET

Verified

Eclipse Jet

Key Takeaways:

Eclipse Aerospace officially launched production of its Model 550 very light jet, the successor to the Eclipse 500, with the first unit expected to roll out next year.
The company also inaugurated its international dealer organization, securing initial orders for the Eclipse 550 for deliveries in 2014-2015.
The Eclipse 550, priced just under $3 million, will include new features such as auto-throttles, synthetic vision, and a redundant flight management system.
Production will start low-volume, scaling to an estimated 50-100 airplanes annually by 2014 with components supplied by PZL Mielec.

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During its inaugural dealer conference last week in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ** Eclipse Aerospace** announced the official production launch for the Model 550, the successor to the original Eclipse 500 very light jet.

To mark the occasion, members of the Eclipse management team and board of directors on Friday signed the fuselage of the first production airplane, Serial Number 1001. The ceremony continued with the Eclipse production team officially mating the forward keel assembly to the fuselage. Now armed with a newly awarded FAA production certificate and a certified airframe, Eclipse expects the first production 550 to roll out of the factory next year.