New Jet Promises to Be Cheaper To Buy, Fly; Unveiling 'Air Taxi'

Wall Street Journal On Line ^ | July 12, 2002 | J. LYNN LUNSFORD

[aculeus]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Imagine someday calling a taxicab in the shape of a tiny jet that seats six and can pick you up at your local municipal airport and deliver you to where you want to go for about the cost of an airline coach seat.

[KantianBurke]

even if this thing takes off, expect to continue pumping in billions in "patriotic loans" to the airline industry.

[sharktrager]

Eclipse Aviation is creating a luxurious six-place, twin-turbofan aircraft that costs less than most used turbo-props. Powered by an extraordinary innovation from Williams International, the Eclipse 500 jet will revolutionize how - and what - people fly.

The Eclipse 500 cruises at a brisk 355 kts, has a generous 1,300 nautical mile range (NBAA IFR, 4 occupants) and a 41,000 foot ceiling.


It is more economical to own and operate than most of today's single engine pistons and all multi-engine pistons and turboprops. The direct operating costs of an Eclipse 500 add up to just $.56 a mile. That's one fourth the operating cost of a King Air and half that of a Baron. For those who don't want to pilot themselves, we anticipate that aircraft charter, complete with professional pilot, will typically be competitive with a full-fare airline ticket.

The Eclipse 500 is constructed principally of aircraft aluminum. It is built using advanced, high volume manufacturing techniques, with an all glass cockpit, and avionics and operating systems derived from the computer industry. The Eclipse 500 is delivered with full IFR capabilities, including autoflight systems.

[Jeff Head]

Love that American inginuity!

COCKPIT INTERIOR

CABIN INTERIOR

EXTERIOR ON THE TARMAC

[sharktrager]

[Jeff Head]

Ooops!

CABIN INTERIOR

[TADSLOS]

Airspace management will be a challenge, especially in Class B airspace.

[isthisnickcool]

Oh, I love private jets. I want one!

This is very cool.....

[RoughDobermann]

And instead of relying on commercial-jet engines such as those from Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce PLC, Eclipse designed its plane around a diminutive, 85-pound Williams International jet engine that traces its roots to those used to power cruise missiles. Williams engines have been gaining popularity among builders of small jets because their designs enable them to produce more thrust per pound of weight than other civilian airplane engines.

Ding, ding, ding!

[SlickWillard]

Eclipse, founded by former Microsoft Corp. executive Vern Raburn, says it can deliver its sleek jet for about $850,000

Sounds like a cheap cruise missle to me. If Osama bin Laden is really worth $40M - $100M, he could buy a small fleet of these, fill each of them with maybe 1000 lbs of dynamite, and fly them at 450 MPH into skyscrapers and nuclear power plants the world over. If the electronics are as spiffy as the article indicates, he might even be able to do it by remote control.

What a sad world we live in.

[Glenn]

Whenever I read one of these, I instantly recall Johnny Carson burning his DeLorean stock certificates on television. Oh me of little faith.

[dvan]

Wow! Me want to go!

[isthisnickcool]

What a sad world we live in.

What? Someone comes up with something like this? Using American invention and technology and you have a problem with it? It's not sad. It's CAPITALISM.

"Sad" are all the bozos like Jesse Jackson, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Tom Daschle, Larry Klayman, etc. that take up some much oxygen and grab chips off the table without ever providing ANYTHING of value in return.

I applaud these people for trying to build this plane!

bin Laden, if he were alive, could buy anough Lear Jets (or, land darts as pilots call them) with the money he supposedly has to do what you refer to. But we would not let him....

[Fixit]

even if this thing takes off, expect to continue pumping in billions in "patriotic loans" to the airline industry.

Heck, even Eclipse Aviation itself, the maker of this plane, has it's hand out grubbing to try and get some of the post-9/11 airline bailout boondoggle money, in the form of loan guarantees.

When first I heard about Eclipse Aviation's plan to build a six-passenger sub-million dollar private jet I was excited at the prospect of some added competition to the air-travel market. Freedom and capitalism would both win as the market provided a platform for competitively priced high speed travel to both owner's and those who charter flights.

I was dismayed to read that Eclipse had its hand out grubbing for government assistance.

Eclipse lobbied hard to get in on the government guaranteed loan program created after 9/11 to help airlines recover, even though it has yet to produce a single aircraft. In a twisted way, Eclipse will arguably benefit from the damage done to commercial airlines by 9/11, as those with the means to afford an aircraft like this will have an even better reason to avoid commercial travel.

So much for capitalism.

[Some of this post adapted from material originally appearing 6/14/2002 on my pitiful blog. I'd give a link, but the archives at blogspot.com are messed up right now.]

[Fixit]

See my reply, #14, above, it inadvertantly also addresses your point about Eclipse and capitalism.

[dljordan]

He could just by a used King-Air for $200,000 and load 2000 LBS. of explosive. Why don't we just all dig a hole and move into it.

[Dead Dog]

You can buy a 707 for around $200K and make a better kaboom.

[Fixit]

All of the statements in your post should be shifted to the future imperfect tense.

Eclipse has yet to fly even a single foot in any aircraft. The photographs on its site that are not computer generated renderings are pictures of the pre-flying iron mockup of the intended design.

Not to say that Eclipse won't reach its performance goals. It is important to let people know that Eclipse has yet to complete even a single aircraft. (Though the Williams engine that it intends to use has been flown aboard another aircraft.)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Bunches of these aircraft buzzing around would really force the FAA to spent some money upgrading the ATC. Would be good for the electronics industry!

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[dvan]

" he would refund a customer's deposit rather than put an unqualified pilot in one of his planes, prompting a standing ovation."

That means the pilot would have to be qualified to land- not just take off. Plus the fact that bin Laden probably doesn't want to wait around and get a on 2004 delivery list to get one. It's cheaper to buy a plane that is already to go.