Aircraft model
ECLIPSE AVIATION CORP EA500
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Eclipse 500 was the aeroplane that named the very light jet category. It is tiny — 6,000 lb, four passenger seats, two 900 lb-thrust Pratt & Whitney turbofans — and it burns about 60 gallons an hour, which is less than a Cessna 340 piston twin. Eclipse promised to sell it for under a million dollars and to change who could own a jet.
The company went bankrupt in 2008 after building roughly 260 aircraft, and that history is the dominant fact about ownership. Aircraft were delivered incomplete, with avionics and de-icing certification arriving later or not at all, and the original customer deposits were lost. Support was rebuilt by successor companies and is now adequate but small, and the aircraft's value depends heavily on which upgrades and service bulletins have been embodied — the gap between a fully updated aeroplane and an early one is large. Flown within its limits it is economical and pleasant, and its short-field numbers are remarkable. It is not an aeroplane to buy without a specialist pre-purchase inspection.
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Put ECLIPSE AVIATION CORP EA500 side by side with up to two other models.
- ECLIPSE AVIATION CORP EA500
What it is
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F |
| Horsepower | — |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR23 |
| Production start | 2006 |
| Production end | 2008 |
| Endorsements required | multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 370 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 1,125 nm |
| Service ceiling | 41,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 3,424 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 69 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 2,345 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 2,250 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 6 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 2,450 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 755 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,550 lb |
| Usable fuel | 253 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 60 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $799,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $1,400,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | — |
| Overhaul cost, low | $300,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $450,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 274 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 220 |
| Median year built | 2008.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 1 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 4.551 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 4.552 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 40 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 18.183 |
| Airworthiness directives | 9 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 220 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 220 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 220 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, turbo-fan, 2 engines, 5-6 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | —3 |
| Support | —4 |
| Liquidity | —5 |
These record scores treat ECLIPSE AVIATION CORP EA500 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 30 aircraft registered under ECLIPSE AEROSPACE INC. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 6.56 · 2 models in class.
- Severity: class median 7.14.
- Access: class median 19,520.5.
- Support: class median 235.5.
- Liquidity: class median 22.66.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.