Eclipse 500 Certification Delayed ’Several Weeks’

Eclipse Aviation said it will not make its anticipated “late June” certification of the Eclipse 500 very light twinjet, citing supplier issues. The company disclosed Sunday that “continued supplier delays” will push back FAA certification “by another several weeks.” For the last few months the company said it has been plagued by supplier problems, blaming them for preventing a previous certification target of March 31. Eclipse officials would not elaborate on which suppliers are allegedly at fault or project a new certification date. Despite the delay, the company believes that the Eclipse 500 “will be the first very light jet to be certified by the FAA.” Meanwhile, “final performance numbers” for the Eclipse 500 are: 370-knot max cruise speed, 69-knot stall speed, 2,400-pound useful load, 3,314-fpm climb rate and 1,125-nm NBAA IFR range with four occupants.