New breed of 'very light jets' poised for takeoff in 2006

The Boston Globe ^ | January 2, 2006 | Peter J. Howe

[Flavius]

i want one, been watching it for years, it was suppose to ne 775-950 k

1.5 is a bit out of my budget

[Ditto]

Pending final certification by the Federal Aviation Administration this winter...Eclipse's six-seater E500 could be taking to the skies in July.

I want one.

[george76]

Fractional fee ownership will be interesting to watch.

Sharing the purchase price and maintenance should be allot cheaper than a larger jet.

Landing in shorter runways should be a big bonus for many folks.

[GaltMeister]

One for the Aviation list.

[george76]

Nice Picture.

[Flavius]

yes i agree, overall this is extremely cool

[Milhous]

1.5 is a bit out of my budget

Rent it instead when you need it. If they charge $300-$400 per hour for a jet sans pilot a couple of people could cost justify using it in rural areas where tickets typically cost $300-$400 per person regardless of destination.

[Owen]

Pardon me for not jumping on the bandwagon, but I have become weary of hearing announcement after announcement of new aviation breakthroughs and then when I read about them I discover

THAT THEY DON'T GO ANY FASTER WHATSOEVER THAN 25 YEARS AGO.

Airplane makers care only about lower fuel costs. I care about not spending my life sitting on an airplane droning along at 400 knots. Yeah, I know they are playing games with this announcment and comparing them to Cessna 172s, but after that is out of their mouth they then leap forward to talk about chasing high end business travelers.

I will give them this. I will likely drive a shorter distance to and from the airport, but what are they going to do with TSA announces they have to expand staff 5 zillion % to put security at all these minor strips?

[george76]

Air taxi and charter services should love this six seater jet.

Moving over 425 per hour should get allot of us to where we want to be.

[DogBarkTree]

"1.5 is a bit out of my budget"

Yeah, mine too. I think I'll wait a couple ofyears and pick up a pre-ownded jet for maybe $800K. ;)

[martinidon]

http://www.eclipseaviation.com/index.php?a=flyagain

[fish hawk]

Pussy Galore's Flying Circus?

[Babu]

I read the article at Rocky Mountain News, and (unless I missed it) didn't see a range for this pup.

Has anyone seen a max range figure for it?

[george76]

"a generous range of 1,280 nautical miles."

"A 41,000-foot ceiling avoids most severe weather, and this extraordinary jet gives you access to more than 10,000 airports..."

[martinidon]

1280 miles

[george76]

Thank you. The site was very useful.

[RayChuang88]

Here's the problem: thanks to increasingly tighter air traffic control procedures, flying faster won't get you any more benefits unless you're flying intercontinental flights. Those increased ATC controls was why Convair wasn't able to sell that many 880 and 990 models during the 1960's.

[Aeronaut]

[Pusterfuss]

It is the way General Aviation is evolving. 20 years from now there will probably not be any piston aircraft in production.