FAA issued an amended production certificate (PC) to Eclipse Aerospace Thursday, authorizing final assembly, test and certification for its new production 550 twin-engine very light business jet.
The final production certification comes following the company’s announcement last week that it powered on the new production jet for the first time. The aircraft entered production in June 2012, the first new production jet for Eclipse following the re-launch of the company by CEO Mason Holland following a bankruptcy filing in 2009.
Eclipse received an original PC for the 550 in 2012 to manufacture the jet under direct FAA oversight of flight test and certification phases. The new PC allows the company to flight test and grant airworthiness certificates under its own FAA-approved quality assurance system. The new jet features a dual Avio IFMS avionics suite and owner selected options for synthetic vision, auto throttles and brakes.
“The results from our multiple FAA audits clearly indicate that EAI’s production and quality systems are among the elite in the industry. We have 550s moving down the production line in Albuquerque, and armed with our full green light from the FAA for final assembly and test, we are on our way to delivering jets this year,” said Holland.
New production 550s are scheduled to begin delivery in the third quarter of 2013. More
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