Eclipse 500 jets to be assembled in Russian factory

Eclipse Aviation, manufacturer of the world’s first very light jet (VLJ), has announced that the supervisory board of the Russian State Bank Vnesheconombank (VEB) has approved the construction of a factory in Ulyanovsk in Russia to assemble the Eclipse 500 jet.

Eclipse 500 VLJ t be assembled in Russia

The supervisory board of the Russian State Bank Vnesheconombank, chaired by Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, on its part has announced that it expects to finance the project in full. The project has a total cost of $205 million.

Among the shareholders of the enterprise will be VEB and the administration of the Ulyanovsk region.

Eclipse Aviation, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the United States, makes the Eclipse 500 – a small, six-seat business jet aircraft. Eclipse 500 is the second of a new class of business jets called very light jets, following the delivery of the first VLJ, the Cessna Citation Mustang, in late 2006. The Eclipse 500 jet is powered by two lightweight Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan engines in tail-mounted nacelles.

The website aviationweek.com quoted Roel Pieper, CEO of Eclipse Aviation, as saying: “VEB’s decision to support the Eclipse 500, at this level, illustrates the strength of the global demand for this amazing jet. Obtaining this approval and financing is an enormous step forward in our efforts to globalize the Eclipse 500 and create a highly-competitive worldwide business model for Eclipse Aviation”

Eclipse Aviation had confirmed earlier that export of components of the Eclipse 500 jet to Russia complies with the export regulations of the United States and of Canada.

Production of the Eclipse 500 jet in the factory located at the Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport in Russia is expected to begin in 2010, and the factory’s ultimate capacity is projected to be 800 jets a year, Eclipse Aviation said in a press release. In the meantime, production of the jets at Eclipse Aviation’s headquarters in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the United States, will continue in full prior to and following the start of the operations at the Russian facility, it added.

The European Technology and Investment Research Centre (ETIRC) Aviation is the exclusive provider of sales, customer service, maintenance support and flight training for the Eclipse 500 in the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, the Russian Federation, the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Republic of Turkey. “A key element of the partnership between Eclipse Aviation and ETIRC Aviation grants ETIRC Aviation the right to set up local assembly of the Eclipse 500 within its region,” according to the company’s release.

The increased production capability is expected to enable Eclipse Aviation and ETIRC Aviation, which is also chaired by Roel Pieper, meet the growing demand for the Eclipse 500 jets in Europe, Russia and Turkey.

The plant at Ulyanovsk, according to Eclipse Aviation, will have the capacity to make up to 800 Eclipse 500 aircraft a year as well as provide customer support services.