Eclipse Aerospace has signed an agreement with Sikorsky subsidiary PZL Mielec in Poland covering the production of Eclipse jet wings, fuselages, empennages and other components.
The parts will be built by PZL Mielec at its factory in southern Poland and shipped to the Eclipse factory in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for final assembly and customer deliveries once production starts next year. Sikorsky purchased PZL Mielec in 2007. The subsidiary builds the international version of the S-70 Black Hawk helicopter and the M28 Skytruck twin turboprop in Poland.
“Sikorsky is proud of our ability to utilize world-class facilities such as PZL to lower the overall cost of supply chain components and manufacturing for the Eclipse jet,” noted Shane Eddy, vice president, global supply chain, for Sikorsky. Sikorsky owns a 42 percent stake in Eclipse.
The $2.695 million Eclipse 550 is based on the same airframe as the Eclipse 500, and will be built using the friction-stirred welding process pioneered by the original Eclipse Aviation. The reintroduced model will also include autothrottles, synthetic vision and enhanced vision technology. Eclipse said the airplane will have the same 1,125 nautical mile range, 375-knot max cruise speed, and 41,000-foot service ceiling as its predecessor, and will burn 59 gallons per hour at cruise power.
