EXPERIENCING THE ECLIPSE -- FLYING, MAINTENANCE, TRAINING

Certification functionality and bankruptcy issues, plus a fair does of malaise, plagued many early adopters of Eclipse jets, but there are 263 jets in the wild now reaching a combined 200,000 total flight hours -- and the new Eclipse ownership experience has changed. The early Eclipse experience was a master class in "the pioneers get the arrows." Many production slot holders took those arrows in the form of shifting performance targets and missed development goals. Others lost their substantial deposits, altogether. In the end, the jet proved underpriced when introduced and the original company suffered, accordingly. The Eclipse jet concept may have been born from significant positive aspiration for general aviation. It was executed, some might argue, with significant hubris. But that was before.

Now the aircraft is under the guidance of Eclipse jet owner Mason Holland who is determined to secure the aircraft's future and support the owners. And as we've found, some of those owners are finally living the dream of safe simple fast efficient flight that they were sold when they put their money down.

At the helm of Eclipse Aerospace, today, Mason Holland is a hands on owner. "I know at least 80 percent of our jet owners on a first name basis," he says, "even those flying internationally." Holland has pulled the company up by its boot straps and now supports seven dealers representing 30 different countries. The jet is actually certified in about 10 more than that. Holland has recently entered the Latin American market following certification in Brazil. "Middle East sales have been great," says Holland, "and it's a great plane for Europe." According to Holland, the cost in fuel per nautical mile to fly an Eclipse in Europe is less than what it costs to fly the same trips in a Cirrus SR22. "Jet-A is so much cheaper than avgas over there," he says. When (if?) the piston fleet turns to Jet-A, that equation will change. But even in the U.S. customers who purchased largely based on promised efficiencies in flight time, fuel burn, and simplicity of operation are reporting back positively. For this story, we spoke with two happy owners. Their stories follow.

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PODCAST: AVIATORS PITCHING IN
Pilots who'd like to volunteer to support the aviation community or assist those in need can find plenty of opportunities to use their aircraft and their skills as a force for good. Rol Murrow, executive director of the Air Care Alliance and the Wolf Aviation Fund, talks with AVweb's Mary Grady about some of the work that's being done and how you can take part.

This podcast is brought to you by Bose Corporation. More...

VIDEO: L-3'S TRILOGY BACKUP GYRO
Glass panels have become standard in new aircraft, and now that more legacy airplanes are retrofitted with these systems, there's a growing market for backup gyros. That market has clearly stated a preference: Backup glass units are making inroads. In this AVweb video, Larry Anglisano of Aviation Consumer and Kirk Fryar of Sarasota Avionics give us a tour of the L-3 Trilogy. More...

STORING YOUR AIRPLANE FOR THE WINTER

As the temperature plummets and the snow flies, the hangar door may not open until spring. Here's how to put the airplane to bed correctly.

More than ever the need for following manufacturer guidelines for aircraft and engine storage has come to the fore. This is particularly true when the aircraft is parked outside or in other than those relatively limited, dry areas of the country that also do not have industrial pollutants to deal with.

Unfortunately some of the greatest concentrations of aircraft are along the coasts where the environment is not at all friendly to airplanes not properly kept up. With the onset of the winter season we like to publish a refresher on the importance of proper preparation of the plane.

According to Lycoming "Our experience has shown that in regions of high humidity, active corrosion can be found on cylinder walls of new engines inoperative for periods as brief as two days. In engines that have accumulated 50 hours or more time in service in a short period, the cylinder walls will have acquired a varnish that tends to protect them from corrosive action; such engines under favorable atmospheric conditions can remain inactive for several weeks without evidence of damage by corrosion. Aircraft operated close to oceans, lakes, rivers and in humid regions have a greater need for engine preservation than engines operated in arid regions."

Conversely, for those engines subject to moderate amounts of blow-by and relatively high oil consumption, accumulating moisture and acid in the oil is a given, regardless of how often the aircraft flies.

In some respects, we can do only so much to keep the damaging impact of corrosion to a minimum, but some form of storage should be considered when limited operation and frequent periods of downtime are expected. This would also be applicable to engines removed from the aircraft awaiting reinstallation.

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MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

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Tom Bliss

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Paul Bertorelli

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Russ Niles

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Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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