B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 2 - (Page 80)

N B A A 2 0 07 We Fly the Eclipse 500 Close to Book Speeds A week ago Sunday, Vern Raburn invited us to fly Eclipse 500-0042, the latest production version of the aircraft now being delivered to customers. Raburn later would fly the aircraft to Atlanta, GA for this year’s NBAA Convention static display. This aircraft is fitted with all the aero modifications and engine FADEC software that makes possible its promised 370 KTAS maximum cruise speed. Our plan was to fly the aircraft from Montgomery Field at San Diego to Reno-Tahoe International Airport where Raburn would hand over the keys of a second aircraft to a high-profile customer. When Raburn and Avio product manager, Matt Brown, arrived in San Diego early Sunday morning, they explained that the aircraft still was equipped with basic Avio avionics, so its navigation and Eclipse founder and driving force Vern Raburn. flight guidance capabilities would be very limited. Avio NG, We also had home-field advantage, slated for certification this Novem- knowing the likely directives that ber, will remedy most of those SOCAL approach would issue. In addition, when we swung into the shortcomings. No problem, we said. We learned aircraft’s left seat at Crown Air line to fly on airways four decades ago service, we had Raburn as our flight and handle the associated time- instructor. With 6,000-plus flight turn-tune-twist-and-talk protocols. hours and a couple dozen types of Eclipse 500 jet at Fulton County for NBAA 2007. different ratings, including one in a L-749 Constellation, as well as a fresh one in the EA 500, we presumed Raburn probably could guide us through the checklists and procedures. Starting the engines was duck soup simple. We just reached overhead and positioned the engine knobs from OFF to ON/START— one at a time. The engines started running and the generators automatically came online. We checked the controls for free movement, Vern set the pitch trim, we selected flaps to the takeoff position and he set in Reno’s 4,410 ft field elevation for the pressurization controller. Et Voila! We were ready for takeoff. Once cleared for takeoff on Runway 28R, Vern recommended pushing up the throttles to the vertical position while holding the brakes. Once the engines were stabilized, we released the brakes and pushed the throttles fully forward to the stops. At a takeoff weight of 5,600 pounds, a field elevation of 423 ft and 18°C OAT, acceleration was moderate. However, we rotated at 89 KEAS and broke ground in 1,250 ft—just past the runway’s 1,200 ft displaced landing threshold. Rotation force was moderate, somewhat heavier than one might expect in a piston twin of the same weight. The book all-engine takeoff distance to 50 ft was 2,350 ft, according to Brown’s computations. Eclipse doesn’t publish oneengine-inoperative takeoff data for

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 2

Contents Spectrum Stresses Freedom Adam Shows A700 Cabin User Fee War of Words Execujet Boosts Services Saab's Got Your Back CAE Covers the Field London Airports Roundup Pratt & Whitney Canada Another Show! A More Digital Jeppesen CMC Rides Bizjet Wave Thales Weighs In We Fly the Eclipse 500

B/CA Show News - NBAA 2007 Day 2

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