Eclipse 500: specs, range, interior, cockpit, & price. Eclipse 500 is an extremely light business jet created by Eclipse Aviation at its production facility in Albuquerque in New Mexico. Eclipse 500 is marketed for pilot/ owner services, airplane charters and air taxis, as economical and luxurious six-seat twin turbofan jets.
Eclipse 500 made its first flight in August 2002, with the Williams EJ22 engine. In November 2002, Eclipse Aviation decided to replace the engine and the aircraft was now equipped with the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F engine. The first flight with the new engine was in December 2004. The aircraft received FAA production certification in April 2007. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification was received in November 2008.
Eclipse 500 Engine
Eclipse 500 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW615F medium turbofan engines, with a take-off rating of 4.00 kN. The engine is equipped with digital engine control full authority of Hispano-Suiza SA (FADEC) including engine start, automatic restart in flight, over temperature, and more speed protection. Engine inlet holes are equipped with bleed engine air ice protection.
The PW615F twin turbofan engine provides a maximum height of 12,497 m (41,000 feet) which avoids the most severe weather systems. The aircraft provides a cruising speed of 685 km/ h (370kt) and ranges from 2,408 km (1,496 miles) to four passengers.
The aircraft is equipped with a fuel tank that can hold 871l (699kg) of fuel. Argo-Tech Corporation supplies integrated fuel systems.
The unique thing about Eclipse 500 is the PhostrEx engine fire suppression system, which is not based on Halon and does not have ozone depletion potential. PhostrEx has been certified by the FAA and meets the Montreal Protocol standards, an agreement to protect the ozone layer.
Eclipse 500 Specs
Eclipse 500 is made of conventional aluminum construction with traditional components (spars, stringers, rib frames and clips). All critical connections, such as leather joints, bulkheads and spar joints to the fuselage are bound mechanically.
The aircraft is equipped with horizontal and horizontal de-icing wing boots. The windshield and air data probe are equipped with an electric powered de-icing system.
UK-based Hampson Industries supplies stabilizers, steering and elevator empennage, vertical and horizontal. Saint Gobain supplies radome and Steico Industries all system tube assemblies.
The Macaer Group supplies trailing link landing gear. The single wheeled nose wheel pulls forward and the main unit pulls in. The landing gear is equipped with Parker Hannifin lightweight wheels and a multi-disc brake system and Michelin radial main tires.
Eclipse 500 can operate from runways, grass or land. Run-off is 700m. The kiosk speed of 124km/ h (67kt) provides an easy and safe landing.
Eclipse 500 Interior and Cabin
The interior of Eclipse 500 cabin is equipped with four club-style leather seats, LED lights, wood trim and a desk and electrical outlet. The aircraft is equipped with a Dukes Inc interface digital cabin pressure control system and a Seamech air conditioning module containing steam coolers and heat exchangers.
Eclipse 500 Cockpit and Avionics
Eclipse 500 is equipped with an all-glass cockpit with two main flight displays and a multifunctional screen, which provides system control and clearly shows the flight, engine, and system performance data parameters.
The multifunctional display unit provides controls for fuel, electricity, machinery, environmental control, ice cleaning, lighting and pressure systems. It is equipped with embedded backup instrumentation and a primary flight display and the multifunction screen has a reversal mode to allow transfer of information to other displays.
Eclipse 500 is integrated with the Avio NG avionic suite which has two main flight displays with a resolution of 768 × 1,024 and one 1,440 × 900 multi-function display supplied by IS & S. The new screen has a higher resolution and average time between failures (MTBF).
Avio NG owns Chelton Flight Systems RTCA/ DO-229C which are integrated with flight management systems (FMS), which allow the creation of special waypoints, addition or removal of waypoints from active routes and specifications of parallel lane operations. This system has lateral capability based on GPS and vertical navigating (VNAV).
Honeywell communication/ navigating devices include the Primus Apex KTR 2280 multi-mode digital radio (MMDR), with a digital VHF navigating receiver (omni-directional VHF ranger, localiser and glideslope), and an optional automatic direction finder. Each radio has one transmitter and six receivers, which are capable of operating 8.33/ 25kHz channel distances and simultaneous monitoring of two VHF communication frequencies. The VHF communication system is displayed and controlled in the main flight display. Honeywell also supplies the optional KGP 560 terrain awareness system (TAWS).
Eclipse 500 navigating system has a Garmin GTX 33 and GTX 33D dual-mode transponders. The FreeFlight system is a double-area-wide augmentation system that is capable of a global positioning system certified for rules heading en route and in approach. EDO Corporation supplies antenna communications and aircraft navigating.
The Meggitt Avionics flight control and guidance system is composed of three axis autopilot, dual Crossbow Technology AHRS500, heading and attitude reference system (AHRS) and automatic throttle. Curtiss-Wright controls, Novatronics throttle quadrant include dual engine throttle levers and auto-throttle motor assemblies for flap grip, speed brakes and steering trim functions.
The air data system, supplied by Harco Laboratories, Bradford, Connecticut, is composed of dual air data computers with minimum vertical separation capabilities (RVSM), dual static ports, double outdoor air temperatures and pitot heat probes and static ports of multiple environmental control systems.
Eclipse 500 Price and Orders
The newest Eclipse 500 price is US $ 2 Million. DayJet was the first air taxi operator to receive the aircraft, three were sent in April 2007. Dayjet received 12 aircraft in September 2007 and in October 2007 launched operations using Eclipse 500 aircraft.
Eclipse Aviation has received Eclipse 500 orders for greater than 2,600 aircraft, including 239 (plus 70 options) for DayJet, 25 (plus 25 options) for JetSet Air UK, 15 (plus 15 options) for Linear Air USA and 120 (plus 60 options)) for Aviation Europe ETIRC. In July 2008, greater than 200 aircraft were shipped and accumulated greater than 20,000 flight hours.
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