Eclipse Aviation

Not to be confused with Eclipse Aerospace.
Eclipse Aviation Corporation
Company typePrivate
IndustryAerospace
Founded1998; in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
FounderVern Raburn
Defunct2009
FateChapter 7 bankruptcy
SuccessorEclipse Aerospace
Headquarters
Albuquerque, New Mexico
,
United States
Key people
Roel Pieper (CEO from 2008)[1]
Vern Raburn (CEO from 1998–2008)
ProductsVery light jets
Number of employees
850 (February 2009)[2]
WebsiteArchives

The Eclipse Aviation Corporation was the Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States–based manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ), and also at one time proposed developing the Eclipse 400 single-engined jet.

The company was founded in 1998 by early Microsoft employee and former Symantec CEO Vern Raburn. Due to Raburn's relationship with Microsoft, Bill Gates was a major stakeholder in the Eclipse project.[3][4][5] The company was known for helping usher in a new category of VLJs when the Eclipse 500 was first delivered in late 2006.[6]

In October 2008, production of the Eclipse 500 was halted due to lack of funding. The company entered an unsuccessful Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2008, which was converted into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation procedure in February 2009. In the final Chapter 7 procedure, completed on August 20, 2009, there was only one bidder, a new company formed to acquire the assets, Eclipse Aerospace.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13]

Eclipse operated service centers at Albuquerque International Sunport, Gainesville Regional Airport in Florida, and Albany International Airport in New York.[14]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AvWeb28Jul08 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Grady, Mary (February 2009). "Most Eclipse Workers Sent Home". Retrieved February 19, 2009.
  3. ^ Eclipse Aviation (November 2008). "History of Eclipse Aviation". Archived from the original on November 13, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  4. ^ Clark, Heather (January 2008). "Eclipse Aviation Gets Foreign Investment". Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2008.
  5. ^ Bohman, Bill (November 2008). "Taxpayers invested millions in Eclipse". Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  6. ^ "What Went Wrong with Eclipse?". Flying Magazine. February 13, 2009. Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved March 20, 2019.
  7. ^ Di Piazza, Karen (October 2008). "Teal Group's Richard Aboulafia's First Eclipse Aviation Report". Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2008.
  8. ^ Niles, Russ (November 2008). "Eclipse Files For Bankruptcy Protection". Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  9. ^ Spondike, Keith (January 2009). "Judge Approves Sale of Eclipse Aviation's Assets to EclipseJet Aviation International, Inc". Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
  10. ^ Russ, Niles (February 2009). "Eclipse Finally Fails, Fails Finally". Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  11. ^ Robinson-Avila, Kevin (August 2009). "New company to get Eclipse Aviation assets". Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  12. ^ Taragana (August 2009). "Eclipse Aerospace says no other bidders appeared for closed Eclipse". Retrieved August 17, 2009.
  13. ^ Marsh, Alton K. (August 2009). "Sale of Eclipse approved by bankruptcy court". Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2009.
  14. ^ Clark, Anthony (November 2008). "Eclipse Aviation may be in financial trouble". Retrieved November 14, 2008.