Eclipse Aviation News
The facility, scheduled for completion in spring 2003, is being constructed in the Broadway Industrial Center located on Albuquerque’s Southwest side. Waterman Inc., headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is managing construction of this custom facility.
“We are pleased to make yet another step toward delivering the Eclipse 500 jet in production volumes,” said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation.
This 50,000 square foot facility will accommodate the company’s friction stir welding equipment, which is used to assemble most parts of the Eclipse 500 fuselage. The facility is sufficient to support friction stir welding of the company’s planned rate of up to 1,500 aircraft per year.
In addition to accommodating the company’s friction stir welding needs, the facility will house approximately 70 people who represent a portion of Eclipse Aviation’s supply chain and manufacturing operations, and will have shipping and receiving capabilities. Eclipse Aviation will maintain its current headquarters and manufacturing facility at Sunport International Airport and the new friction stir welding center will not impact the company’s plan to construct a permanent facility at Double Eagle II airport.
Friction stir welding is one of the innovations making the Eclipse 500 jet possible. An advanced, high-speed process for joining aluminum, it replaces rivets in more than 60 percent of the Eclipse 500 jet.
A year ahead of schedule, in May this year, Eclipse Aviation received FAA approval of the friction stir welding process specification, another major program milestone.
FAA approval of this process specification, in conjunction with the receipt of the Eclipse 500 type certificate, will allow Eclipse Aviation to build production aircraft using friction stir welding.
The Eclipse 500 is a six-person twin-engine jet aircraft enabling the creation of new forms of air travel that will provide much-needed alternatives to the commercial airlines. Selling for $837,500 (in June 2000 dollars), the Eclipse 500 costs approximately a quarter of today’s small jet aircraft and will be significantly safer, easier and less expensive to fly.
About Friction Stir Welding
Friction stir welding is highly automated and significantly faster than other structural joining processes. It enables a drastic reduction in aircraft assembly time and eliminates the need for thousands of rivets resulting in reduced assembly costs, better quality joining and stronger, lighter joints.
Friction stir welding will replace more than 60 percent of the rivets on major assemblies of the Eclipse 500 jet including the cabin, aft fuselage, wings and engine mounts.
Eclipse Aviation is in the business of designing, certifying and producing modern, affordable jet aircraft that will revolutionize the transportation market. The company is applying advanced electronics systems, manufacturing and business practices to produce aircraft that cost less than a quarter of today's small jet aircraft, will be significantly safer and easier to operate than those of today, and have the lowest cost of ownership ever achieved in a jet aircraft.
The goal of Eclipse is to bring the word "personal" into aviation, making it possible for commercial air passengers to move directly between cities on a quick, affordable and convenient basis. It will also allow pilot owners to enter the world of jet-powered aviation.