Eclipse Aviation has said that it expects to gain EASA certification for its Eclipse 500 light jet in the fourth quarter of 2006, and already has orders for 200 of the aircraft from European clients.

Said company spokesman Andrew Broom: “10 per cent of our sales so far have been in Europe. Of those, 112 have been ordered by one company alone, Aviace in Switzerland.”

Broom said that interest across Europe had been strong, which he attributed to the aircraft’s apparent suitability for European flying. “We feel it’s perfect for Europe, because you can pretty much get anywhere without stopping, thus reducing user fees.”

Eclipse has listed a series of four programme milestones, which it claims underscore its rapid progress towards the certification and delivery of the company’s 500 twin-engine jet in the first quarter of 2006.

The four areas which the company regards as pivotal are: completion of the selection process of the 65 suppliers who will provide structures and systems for the production aircraft; the finalisation of one quarter of all required FAA certification work, which includes approval of three key compliance reports in aircraft functional hazard assessment, systems functional hazard assessment and systems criticality assessment; the validation of the company’s advanced manufacturing methods and the acceleration

of the Eclipse 500 production ramp, which the company believes will move 99 per cent of current

orders forward.

Eclipse has also unveiled plans for its first US factory service centre location outside of its Albuquerque headquarters and outlined its customer support plan for the aircraft.

The company also released a white paper explaining how the aircraft design will increase reliability and reduce downtime for both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.