One Aviation has confirmed that it has laid off an undisclosed number of staff at its Eclipse Aerospace production facility in Albuquerque. In a statement released Thursday, the company said the move was in response to market forces and preparation of a major new development. “We are undergoing a corporate restructuring, including a personnel reduction, to align production output with our current and anticipated orders over the coming months and to prepare for the future Project Canada development and launch,” the statement read. Project Canada is the code name for a new aircraft that was announced at Air Venture 2016.
The Canada version of the existing Eclipse 550 will have a bigger wing, more powerful engines and pack more fuel than the current aircraft, giving it a 1400-NM range, shorter takeoff distance and twice the climb rate to cruising altitude. It will fly in 2018 and deliveries will start in 2019. It will also have the option of a Garmin 3000 panel. Eclipse sold five aircraft in the first three quarters of 2016, the same number as in that time period in 2015. It sold a total of seven airplanes in 2015 but the final tally for 2016 won’t be released until next month at the General Aviation Manufacturers Association annual State of the Industry press conference in Washington.
