ECLIPSE E500 ROLLS OUT...
The rollout of the highly anticipated Eclipse E500, a six-place, 355-knot, 56-cent-per-mile, roughly $850,000 jet, took place on Saturday at the company's Albuquerque headquarters. "Today we're celebrating a significant milestone in our quest to change the way the people travel ..." said Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn.
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal last Friday, Eclipse states they have more than 500 orders which, Raburn says, equate to $38 million in nonrefundable deposits.
The company expects a total need of $300 million to see the innovative project through FAA certification and first delivery in 2004 and raised $220 million with a business plan and a mock-up. Now they have a jet. Expect news of first flight within 30 days. If demand follows, Eclipse believes it can one day produce 1,000 jets per year.