The Eclipse 500 lives at two ends of the same spectrum. At one terminus, it’s the over-sold, overpromised underperformer that traditional jet operators love to hate. At the other, it’s a nifty little high-tech jewel that a small cadre of owners rave about. Somewhere in the vast gulf between, the new Eclipse Aerospace hopes to mine some jet sales.
As we go to press this month, Eclipse is touring the U.S., offering demo flights in the Total Eclipse, the factory refurb version of the original airplane and a virtual stand-in for what will be a new-production model, the Eclipse 550.