One Aviation is at the show to promote its upgraded Eclipse very light jet, code named Project Canada. The aircraft was launched in July at the AirVenture show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and is scheduled to make its first flight in the second half of 2017.
Alan Klapmeier, chief executive of the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based airframer, says the upgrade came about after flying the EA550 for many hours, since orchestrating the merger in 2015 of Eclipse Aerospace with Kestrel Aircraft – of which he was the co-founder – to form One Aviation.
“From over 400h of flying the EA550, I could see what improvements needed to be made to the aircraft from a customer’s perspective to really boost the experience,” Klapmeier says.
The $3.6 million Canada includes a number of changes to the current EA550 design. The horizontal stabiliser and wings will be larger and the fuel tanks moved from the tips to the root to allow the aircraft to carry another 265litres (70gal) of fuel. Wingtips will be added and the Garmin 3000 flightdeck will replace the current IS&S installation. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610s will be replaced by the larger and more powerful PW615Fs.
“The improvements will give the new model a 1,400nm (2,600km) range – 300nm more than the current design – with three passengers and maximum cruise thrust,” says Klapmeieir. “It will fly much further than competitor designs such as the Embraer Phenom 100, HondaJet and Cessna Citation M2.” The aircraft will also be able to climb to its 43,000ft ceiling in nearly half the time of its $2.7 million stablemate, which will continue to be produced.
“We have a number of customers who are interested in this aircraft, particularly in China, where we hope to secure approval very soon,” says Klapmeier. “The new model has been well received by the market, but many people naturally want to see it flying before they make a commitment”. The aircraft’s branding has yet to be decided, but One Aviation stresses that the branding will not follow a logical nomenclature. “It won’t be a 600 or 650 as there are other aircraft on the market with that suffix,” says Klapmeier. “The Eclipse 700 is an option though.”
Source: Flight Daily News
