Certification of the new Eclipse 500 personal jet is 'nearing completion' says the Albuquerque company. A deadline of 30 June 2006 had been set by the ambitious company but even though it has five aircraft involved in flight testing, that date had not been met.

"Our test fleet of five Eclipse 500s continues to burn test points and build hours at a rapid rate.  We accumulated more than 300 flight hours in the last four weeks," said Vern Raburn, boss of Eclipse
Aviation. "I am also thrilled to see the production line coming to life. Last weekend, the first customer Eclipse 500 forward fuselage was mated to the aft fuselage."

Six customer aircraft are in production and Eclipse is confident of achieving FAA certification this quarter, thus being the first Very Light Jet (VLJ) to market. The new breed of VLJs looks set to revolutionise the charter market, offering speed, economy and flexibility of use.

W: www.eclipseaviation.com