Eclipse Aviation gets European Aviation Safety certification for Eclipse 500 jets

Eclipse Aviation, the aircraft manufacturer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the United States, has received certification for its Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

Eclipse 500 VLJ

While the European Aviation Safety Agency clarified that the approval is for private flights only, the Eclipse Aviation said it expected to receive the EU-OPS 1 certification for commercial operations in 2009.

The EASA certification will allow Eclipse Aviation to sell the aircraft in 37 European countries.

The certification is similar to the US Federal Aviation Administration’s approval in the United States.

Eclipse 500, the small, six-seat business jet, 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 is powered by two lightweight Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F turbofan engines in tail-mounted nacelles.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), created on September 28, 2003, is an agency of the European Union (EU) with offices in Cologne, Germany. It has been given specific regulatory and executive tasks in the field of civilian aviation safety.

In a statement, the European Aviation Safety Agency said the certificate is valid for VFR and IFR operations, including RVSM and flight into known icing. The EASA requires Eclipse 500s to be equipped with the Avio NG 1.5 avionics suite and some equipment specific to European operations, such as dual mode-S transponders and a third attitude indicator-a “slight” weight addition.

In addition, the EASA also mandates, for European-registered Eclipse 500s, several Airworthiness Directives of the US Federal Aviation Administration regarding fuel-filler adaptors, thrust levers and pitot/angle-of-attack probes.

Roel Pieper, chief executive of Eclipse Aviation, told the media: “In tandem with the EASA announcement, the company received the FAA approval for the Eclipse 500’s upgraded Avio NG Total Aircraft Integration avionics system featuring dual Garmin GPS 400Ws. The upgraded avionics suite adds Rnav, coupled GPS/Rnav lateral navigation capability, coupled precision and non-precision approach capability and various other software upgrades.”

Pieper added that the company is “now hopeful that it can obtain the much-needed investment after receiving the European certification of its very light jet.” Recently, we reported that Eclipse 500 VLJ’s will be manufactured in Russia.

“The EASA certification,” he said, “will allow the company to add 300 European aircraft orders, including 180 orders for Turkey, to its books – bringing the total outstanding orders to about 1,100. All but a handful of the aircraft on order will be sold for $2.1 million.”

The company had raised the price of its aircraft from $1.5 million.

The EASA certifications for the Eclipse 500 very light jet come at a time when Eclipse Aviation is in trouble. The company had, a weak ago, sent employees home after being late in paying them wages. Besides, disgruntled customers had filed about a dozen lawsuits in federal court seeking refunds of over $7 million after the  Eclipse Aviation raised the price of the aircraft in June 2008.