Eclipse Aviation CEO and founder Vern Raburn last week sought to reassure stakeholders that a recent dustup with a major supplier does not portend financial troubles for the Albuquerque company.
In a letter sent to customers and investors, Raburn said the company hopes to work out its differences with Hampson Aerospace, the company building tail sections for the Eclipse 500 jet, which sued Eclipse for nonpayment on Nov. 13.
He also boasted of a recent 8,000-mile, problem-free flight to the Middle East completed by one of the company's jets, and outlined progress of the Eclipse 500's new avionics system.
Eclipse has had a tough year as it ramps up to full production. Various obstacles, ranging from lastminute tweaks to the aircraft and supplier delays to problems with internal processes, have kept the company from reaching an expected one-plane-per-day production rate. The company laid off 100 temporary workers in late October, and some analysts have said Eclipse would need more investor funding to make it through the end of the year.
Raburn, in his letter, reiterated Eclipse's stance that the dispute with Hampson stemmed from poor-quality parts and, "contrary to wishful speculation by our competitors and critics ... has absolutely nothing to do with the financial health of Eclipse Aviation."
"In short, it is our refusal to accept and pay for substandard material," he said.
Raburn touted the recent performance of the Eclipse 500 jet in a trans-Atlantic flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for an air show. The plane, with modifications to its avionics system, "logged over 25 flight hours with zero squawks," Raburn said, using aviation industry lingo for maintenance problems.
The Eclipse 500's new avionics system, which replaces one built by jettisoned supplier Avidyne, should be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration in December, he said, and the first production plane to incorporate it is already in production.
