Many of our members will remember we had two fly-ins to Albuquerque to visit the Eclipse facility, view the mock up and the first prototype of the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet. Those fly-ins were on November 21, 2002 and May 4, 2004. We were very impressed with the Friction Stir Welding used on the jets.

Friction Stir Welding (vs friction welding)

Friction stir welding also produces a plasticised region of material, but in a different manner.

A non-consumable rotating tool is pushed into the materials to be welded and then the central pin, or probe, followed by the shoulder, is brought into contact with the two parts to be joined, figure 1.

The rotation of the tool heats up and plasticises the materials it is in contact with and, as the tool moves along the joint line, material from the front of the tool is swept around this plasticised annulus to the rear, so eliminating the interface.

Figure 1 Schematic of the friction stir welding process

Eclipse Receives Production Certificate, Moves On To Training

Multiple announcements from Eclipse last week publicized the company's new training partners, delivery from the FAA of Eclipse's production certificate (the company may now issue standard airworthiness certificates for its production aircraft) and questions regarding earlier issuance of its type certificate.

In February, Eclipse announced that aerodynamic refinements (larger tip tanks and aerodynamic refinements) made to the aircraft would be standard on aircraft delivered in mid-April and beyond. (We'll soon find out if all aircraft produced now will adhere to the "B model" configuration with which Eclipse says all its aircraft will ultimately conform.)

With its production certificate awarded in the last week of April, Eclipse can begin delivering toward a goal of about 400 aircraft this year. As for training, United Airlines and Eclipse last month parted ways, which would have seen United training Eclipse 500 pilots. Now, Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of The Netherlands and Higher Power Aviation (HPA) of Dallas-Fort Worth have joined with Eclipse in working with simulator manufacturer OPINICUS Corporation of Lutz, Fla.

FSC will provide Eclipse's FAA-approved course content and HPA's flight instructors will conduct FAA-approved flight training. "Collectively, this team will work closely with Eclipse to deliver the comprehensive and rigorous Eclipse curriculum that was approved by the [FAA] earlier this year," Eclipse said. Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn added, "We look forward to joining forces with these respected organizations to create an entirely new generation of safe and highly-proficient jet pilots."

According to Eclipse, "The Eclipse 500 training program is comprised of a multi-phase curriculum, including an initial flight skills assessment and supplemental training if required, self-paced computer-based study, emergency situation training, a type rating transition course, post-certification mentoring as well as recurrent training. The training curriculum was developed using Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) and Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) principles."

Rumormill Roils Over FAA's Eclipse 500 Type Certificate

The FAA issued a type certificate for the Eclipse 500 last Sept. 30, but a grievance filed Oct. 20 by National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) aircraft certification representative Tomaso DiPaolo hit the spotlight this week suggesting the gesture may have been rushed.

DiPaolo suggests that the pay-for-performance structure within the FAA may have held undue influence in the process. DiPaolo's grievance, posted late last week to a blog, alleges that "several outstanding safety/regulatory issues" noted by certification engineers and test pilots would have precluded issuance of the TC, were it not rushed through channels on the last calendar day of the government's fiscal year.

The allegations are not intended to implicate Eclipse (and Eclipse denies any attempt to involve political influence in the certification process) but rather target the FAA's operating structure. The Eclipse 500's journey through the late certification process did not end when the aircraft originally received a "provisional" certification on the ramp at Oshkosh in late July.

That certificate did not allow the company to start deliveries. Full certification came on Sept. 30, but deliveries were held up while problems with wing fasteners and windscreens were addressed. That was followed by a parting of ways with key avionics supplier Avidyne, which is being resolved with a new avionics system dubbed Avio NG.

EPA Recognizes Eclipse's PhostrEx

Eclipse Aviation on Tuesday said the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the company with a 2007 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for the development of its PhostrEx fire-suppression system.

“PhostrEx will transform how our industry protects against engine fires while simultaneously guarding against the depletion of the ozone,” said Eclipse President and CEO Vern Raburn. PhostrEx was patented by Eclipse and is the first new commercially viable aircraft engine fire-suppression system in 50 years, the company said.

Aircraft fire-suppression systems are currently exempt from the Montreal Treaty and are allowed to use Halon, an ozone-depleting substance, until a workable substitute is found. PhostrEx could very well be that substitute, but the EPA has yet to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to ban Halon for aviation applications.

When the PhostrEx agent is released from its hermetically-sealed canister, it works in less than one-tenth of a second, then, after extinguishing the fire it combines with moisture in the air and quickly becomes inert. Because of this rapid reaction with moist air and surfaces, the agent cannot be transported to the stratosphere where ozone depletion could occur, Eclipse notes.

In a fire, PhostrEx decomposes 1,000 times more rapidly than Halon and undergoes three sequential losses of bromine atoms, which are the power behind this agent. These atoms then catalyze suppression of the fire, according to Eclipse.