Aviation is really something else........

[IO540]

Here (http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2010/100329eclipse.html?WT.mc_id=100402epilot&WT.mc_sect=tts)

Eclipse Aerospace Inc. (EAI) embarked on a mission to finish the design and promised capabilities of the breakthrough Eclipse 500. Since acquisition of the company, Eclipse Aerospace has invested in, and completed the design and certification of, the original EA500 jet, which now includes FIKI (Flight Into Known Icing) and a GPS-coupled autopilot.

Amazing stuff. How does a GPS coupled autopilot work? Surely, it can never be certified?

I feel really sorry for the poor sods who put money behind the original Eclipse "venture"... Aviation is a game of barrels, with the smart people getting to choose which one to bend over. In the case of Eclipse, there was exactly one barrel to play with...

[what next]

Hi!

How does a GPS coupled autopilot work? Surely, it can never be certified?

It works by getting its lateral (and in some countries even its vertical) navigation input from an FMS that gets it's position information from a GPS sensor. At work, I fly certified transport category aircraft that are fitted with exactly this kind of equipment. Works better than all the other stone-age crap installed additionally.

Regards, Max

[IO540]

I was being ironic :)

[Pace]

10540

Not sure whether you are talking about the GPS auto coupling or VLJs which promised so much but have delivered so Little.

Ought 4 nought is another saying and even the Mustang is short on range and payload.

The Eclipse may have to rise from the ashes for a second attempt before she comes of age and fulfils her original promise.

It is not just biz jets but any new aircraft which has stumbling blocks for early purchasers.

I feel sorry for the purchasers of the Diamond twinstar who ended up with useless diesel engines and an airframe which didnt meet its initial speed promise.

Pace

[englishal]

The E500 is quite a jet though, and if I were rich I'd buy one to have in the hangar alongside my Phenom...

[IO540]

I heard from one owner that it is pretty good as a basic plane - constant criticism from the U.S. Flying magazine notwithstanding.

What it needs is de-ice and good avionics, with a good autopilot.

What beats me is that so many punters put money down on it, and then took delivery of it, with it being so ludicrously crippled.

Maybe there was a justifiable financial no-way-back at that point? I don't know.

This was not like the Diamond diesels. In that case, only the slightly paranoid would have anticipated the engine issues (or any other issues, with a new plane like that). With the Eclipse, the whole thing was a circus from very early on. Maybe the Marketing Dept was exceptionally adept at putting out bull which kept the doubters on board. Diamond had the same issues and I know they dealt with them extremely pro-actively.