Eclipse Reborn: EA500
By Mike Gerzanics
The sound of construction is once again echoing through the shops at
Eclipse Aerospace in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The company was born
in September from the ashes of Vern Raburn's bankrupt Eclipse
Aviation.
New owners Mason Holland and Michael Press are refreshing and
putting up for sale as $2.15 million Total Eclipse packages more
than two dozen aircraft that were grounded when per-seat on-demand
operator DayJet went bust in late 2008, while customers with
incomplete aircraft are arriving at the New Mexico or Chicago
service centers for new Avio NG 1.7 avionics and autopilots as well
as flight into known icing upgrades. As planned, the company is
getting the parts and upgrades flowing before deciding on
re-launching production.
I returned to Albuquerque in March to fly the latest evolution of
the aircraft, particularly for its Avio NG total aircraft
integration system, the aircraft's operating system. Avio NG is
perhaps one of the least appreciated successes of Eclipse's
development, as the system's open architecture operating system was
scalable and would have been the basis upon which to develop future
Eclipses. At its core are two computer systems that run aircraft
systems asynchronously over nine databuses.
Reflecting the mindset of the company's visionary president Vern
Raburn, the prototype aircraft I flew in 2006 was called a "beta"
aircraft, as if it were a load of software. While the beta aircraft
had no avionics to speak of and a FADEC load that restricted
performance at altitude, it did show that jet performance was
possible at a piston twin price. The aircraft at the time was priced
at about $1.5 million.
EXTENDED TIP TANK
I had been impressed by a lot of what I saw during my flight of the
beta aircraft, but I was disappointed by the cruise performance. At
the time Eclipse Aviation was promising a maximum indicated cruise
speed of 360kt (666km/h). During my flight at FL320 maximum
continuous thrust, with an outside air temperature of -55e_SDgrC
(-67°F), I pushed the VLJ to Mach 0.52. The computed true airspeed
of about 300kt was well below the published figure. The first 38
production aircraft were in the same aerodynamic configuration as
the beta aircraft, and I cannot comment on whether promised tweaks
to the FADECs to increase thrust at altitude improved their
performance.
The remaining 222 aircraft were all delivered with the extended tip
tank performance package. Numerous changes were made to clean up the
vehicle's aerodynamics, the most visible being the bullet fairing on
the top of the T-tail. FADEC software was altered to provide more
thrust at altitude, and each tip tank was enlarged to carry an
additional 45.5 litres (12USgal) of fuel. The extended tip tank
performance modification was designed to increase the maximum cruise
speed to 370kt and NBAA range to 2,085km (1,125nm).
The flight into known icing modification is relatively
straightforward, as all aircraft left the factory with full span
pneumatic boots on the leading edges of the wing and horizontal
stabiliser. Certification of the modification required the
installation of 30 x 45cm (12 x 18in) rectangular sheets of ice
phobic material around the heated static ports, just below the
forward windscreens.
Forward windscreen heating is provided by a 13cm-wide strip that
spans the pane from top to bottom. When the strip is energised it
turns slightly opaque, with most users keeping the windscreen heat
off until actual icing conditions are encountered.
The Eclipse 500 is perhaps the only aircraft to be certificated for
flight at FL410 with pneumatic de-ice boots. As the boots must flex
to operate, they cannot be operated at outside air temperatures of
less than -40°C, which may limit the Eclipse's ceiling in icing
conditions.
The aircraft is certificated for single-pilot instrument flight
rules operations, and the Avio NG v 1.7 is a welcome addition. Two
Garmin 400 GPS navigation systems are installed and coupled to an
S-Tec autopilot. The dual Garmins, while functional, are not well
integrated into the otherwise slick Avio forward instrument panel.
Placed along the lower edge of the instrument panel they use
Garmin's rudimentary rotary push knobs for data entry. The Garmins
give the Eclipse flight management system functionality, but I would
have expected a keypad similar to that of the Cessna Mustang. The
only notable functionality missing on the v 1.7 upgrade is an
autothrottle. When the original Eclipse Aviation promised an
autothrottle for the jet, I was astounded that a VLJ would offer
something typically only found in midsize and larger business jets.
An autothrottle may be developed for the Eclipse, but it will not be
part of the 1.7 package.
SIDESTICK FUN
The demonstration aircraft for our flight was one of the last to be
built. It was an extended tip tank performance aircraft upgraded for
flight into known icing and with the Avio NG v 1.5 avionics. The
only real difference between 1.5 and 1.7 is that the latter has XM
weather and e-charts. While not new, it had less than 30h.
The pre-flight walk around inspection, conducted by training manager
Paul Burns, was straightforward. The demonstration aircraft was
equipped with an optional fourth passenger seat. To ease access to
the aircraft, the fourth seat was slid fully aft. The cockpit is not
overly large, and I found the centre pillar mounted handle a help in
settling into the left seat.
While I am not tall, I found the most comfortable position was with
the seat fully aft. The sidestick fell readily to hand, the
sidewall-mounted arm rest providing excellent support while allowing
for full range of motion.
Three large displays graced the forward panel, the two 10.4in
outboard ones functioning as primary flight displays. The 15in
centre display is normally configured as a multifunction display
with five windows. Three windows along the top always display a
standby attitude deviation indicator, engine and configuration page
and crew alerting system. The lower two-thirds of the display is
broken into two windows, with a map and various system synoptic
pages available for display.
Recently XM weather and an e-charts capability have been
certificated. Just below the glareshield is the autopilot control
panel, which is well arranged. Engine control switches are the only
items placed on the overhead panel. The thrust levers are part of a
thrust-by-wire arrangement and are mounted on a small pedestal
between the seats. A small TOGA button, mounted underneath the left
thrust lever, is available to facilitate single pilot operations in
instrument meteorological conditions.
Engine start procedures were a breeze, the FADECs controlling the
start. Each engine reached idle in less than 20s, with peak
interstage turbine temperature of 600°C well below the 850°C start
limit. During the taxi to Runway 08, the electrically driven flaps
were set to take-off. With an empty weight of 1,721kg (3,794lb), two
pilots (188kg) and 726kg of fuel, the Eclipse had an additional
88.6kg of payload available. With full fuel tanks (770kg), less than
45.4kg of would have been available.
At a VR of 89kt equivalent airspeed, a fairly hefty pull, around
10kg, on the sidestick was needed to get the nose moving towards the
take-off attitude of 10°.
Computed runway required to clear a 15.2m (50ft) obstacle for the
9°C conditions and maximum N1 of 95.7% was 884m, and the actual
ground run supported this estimate. Once airborne, the electrically
actuated gear was retracted and neutral longitudinal stick allowed
the Eclipse to settle into a 120kt climb. Passing 400ft AGL, the
flaps were retracted and power reduced to maximum continuous thrust.
During the configuration changes the electrical trim rapidly nulled
control forces, and a cruise climb speed of 165kt was captured and
held. During the climb the FADECs kept the engines at the optimum
maximum continuous thrust setting, easing pilot workload. Sidestick
roll forces were moderate at the 165kt climb speed.
AUTOPILOT MODES
During the climb to FL320 I tried a number of autopilot modes and
found them to be intuitive while precisely controlling the aircraft.
Once at FL320 with the power at maximum continuous thrust (99.2%N1)
the Eclipse stopped accelerating at M0.64 (MMO), representing its
maximum speed cruise. With 220kt indicated on the primary display
and cooler than ISA conditions, the Eclipse clipped along at true
airspeed 369kt with total fuel flow of 238kg/h (524lb/h).
I was pleasantly surprised that after the poor showing of the beta
aircraft, that the extended tip tank performance Eclipse was capable
of meeting the published maximum airspeed of 370kt. Eclipse
Aerospace publishes an NBAA range of 2,084km, a total fuel flow of
155kg/h was set to approximate a long-range cruise condition. At
M0.50 and an equivalent airspeed of 172kt, the Eclipse sped along at
an indicate airspeed of 288kt, lending credence to the published
range capability.
During the descent to medium altitude to see how the jet handled at
low speed, I investigated its high-speed handling qualities. Passing
FL260 the airspeed approached M0.64, the airspeed tape turning red
when MMO was reached. At 5kt faster than MMO an aural clacker was
sounded and "overspeed" was displayed. At slightly over MMO the
aircraft's responses to a series of sharp small amplitude control
inputs was well damped.
With the yaw damper turned off, the oscillations excited by a sharp
rudder input were at most lightly damped. Operations without the yaw
damper are allowed below 20,000ft and an equivalent airspeed of
200kt, but it is likely that passengers would be uncomfortable.
APPROACH TO STALL
Level at 10,000ft above mean sea level, two approaches to stall were
performed in the landing configuration, gear down and flaps at land.
The power was set to idle, and a slight descent maintained to
approach the stall at a 1kt/s deceleration rate. Passing 80kt
equivalent airspeed, an aural "stall, stall" was sounded.
Continued aft stick pressure further slowed the Eclipse until the
stick pusher fired at 71kt. I was able to overpower the pusher and
hold the aircraft at an equivalent airspeed of 70kt, where the wings
remained rock steady. Relaxing stick back pressure and advancing the
thrust levers rapidly returned the Eclipse to normal flight
conditions.
The next approach to stall was carried out with the de-ice boots
turned on. Boots-on stall warning and pusher activation speeds are
increased to account for ice contamination degrading the lifting
surfaces. Using the same entry conditions, the stall warning
occurred at 92kt and the pusher fired at 84kt.
I immediately initiated the recovery procedure. With plenty of pitch
authority and an artificially high stall warning speed, I got a
secondary pusher activation during the recovery pullout. Slightly
reducing aft stick pressure allowed the Eclipse to accelerate to a
safe flying airspeed. While the techniques for both a boots-on and
boots-off stall recovery are the same, the boots-on case requires a
little more finesse to safely maximise aircraft performance.
Before returning to Albuquerque after the slow-speed handling
events, we let down into Alexander municipal airport in Belen, New
Mexico. The airfield is uncontrolled with a single 2,012 x 18m
runway.
To facilitate the descent to pattern altitude I extended the
Eclipse's flaps to the take-off position. Extending the flaps sped
the descent, much like a speed brake would have. Two visual circuits
were flown, with the light winds right down the runway. The Eclipse
sits low to the ground, which would normally cause me to initiate
the flare too high above the runway. Belen's runway is much narrower
than those at most commercial airports, and when my peripheral
vision cues told me to flare, we were low enough to ensure a smooth
touchdown. At equivalent airspeeds above 180kt, I had found the
Eclipse's roll control forces to be on the high side of acceptable,
but during the pattern work they were light and well harmonised with
pitch forces.
AUTOPILOT APPROACH
Recovery to Albuquerque was via radar vectors to an instrument
landing system approach. I engaged the autopilot to access the
workload placed on a single pilot in instrument conditions. The
turbulent air encountered that day made for a bumpy ride, with much
of my attention focused on keeping a desired airspeed.
The autopilot readily tracked the several heading and altitude
changes before the localiser and glidepath were captured. The yaw
damper was working full time to smooth out the Dutch roll
oscillations excited by the unsettled air. The responsive Pratt &
Whitney Canada PW610 engines allowed me to track an approach target
equivalent airspeed of 101kt, despite the turbulent conditions.
At 200ft AGL an autopilot go-around was initiated. Pushing the
thrust lever-mounted TOGA button caused the nose to rise to a 10
pitch attitude. Advancing the power and retracting the gear during
the climb completed the most demanding portion of the go-around.
The Eclipse does not have a published VMCA, minimum control speed
with an engine inoperative, as it is well below the stall speed. Yet
on downwind for our next approach, another ILS, Burns pulled the
right thrust lever to idle to simulate an engine failure. Very
little left rudder was required to counteract the yawing motion
generated by the asymmetric thrust condition. Less than 22% of
available rudder trim was needed to null rudder pedal forces.
The Eclipse is certificated as a centreline thrust aircraft, and I
hand-flew the simulated engine-out approach with the rudder trim set
to zero. The approach was initially flown with flaps set to
take-off. Once committed to landing, the flaps would be fully
extended to land. We initiated a go-around at 500ft AGL, before the
flaps had been fully extended.
Eclipse Aerospace publishes a single engine rate of climb at 5,000ft
MSL and ISA +15°C of 705ft/min, and our missed approach single climb
rate matched or exceeded those numbers. Less than 20kg of rudder
pedal force was needed to keep the Eclipse in co-ordinated flight
during the climb-out.
My demonstration flight ended with a hand-flown simulated single
engine approach to a full stop on Runway 26. During the approach the
small yaw forces from the single-engine condition were easily
countered with small rudder pedal inputs. A single-engine climb
capability and near centreline thrust handling characteristics are
important safety features the Eclipse offers newly minted jet
pilots.
UNCONVENTIONAL CONCEPT
"Flying in the Face of Convention" was one of the original Eclipse
Aviation's tag lines, and a twin-engined jet for under $1 million
was an unconventional concept. To make good on that promise, a
number of compromises were made. Keeping the maximum gross weight
under 2,725kg allowed for simplified certification requirements. The
low gross weight necessitated a small cabin, a feature perhaps at
odds with its envisaged air taxi role.
While the Eclipse demonstrates good handling qualities, its Dutch
roll characteristics lead me to believe it should have been built
with a longer fuselage. There are no drag devices and no anti-skid
protection for the wheel brakes. Landing long and fast in the
Eclipse is not good practice. To its credit, Eclipse did develop an
aircraft with twinjet reliability and a capable three-display glass
cockpit able to fly 2,084km at altitudes of up 41,000ft.
Cessna's Mustang is more capable than the Eclipse, but is more
expensive and has higher operating costs. At nearly $2 million, the
Eclipse is not the sure thing it was at half that price, but with
the new company's commitment to support and upgrade the original VLJ
it will satisfy a number of diverse operators.
About JetAlliance
JetAlliance, Inc. is the leading Fractional Jet Ownership Company
in the new VLJ (Very Light Jet) category of aircraft. Headquartered
in Westlake Village, California, JetAlliance is offering ownership
opportunities in the Eclipse 500 private jet, starting at $187,500.
For additional information, call 888-234-7526.
To request additional
information please click here.
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