Jaunted

Very Light Jets / Air Taxis / Eclipse Aviation / → All Tags

We Were Told There Would Be Air Taxis

We've been hearing about "air taxis" and "very light jets" for years now, with backers promising that six- or eight-seat planes are the way out of the miserable hell that is flying commercial. (The fact that tickets would be affordable was a big plus, too.) But now that Eclipse Aviation, the maker of the ultimate VLJ, the Eclipse 500, has stopped making planes, the future of the whole niche industry is in doubt.

In September, Eclipse's biggest customer, an outfit called DayJet, shut down operations, saying it would likely never resume business. Shortly thereafter, Eclipse stopped making new planes. Today, news broke that the company won't be able to pay employees for their past two weeks of work, and some of them simply packed up and walked out.

Of course, the Air Taxi Association--which is a thing that exists--unsurprisingly says these developments don't mean the whole air taxi idea is bust. They don't?

Related Stories:
· Eclipse Employees Unpaid for Two Weeks [AP, via KDBC]
· Eclipse Aviation [Wikipedia]
· Very Light Jets coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of an Eclipse 500: Wikipedia]

Private Jets / Very Light Jets / Websites / Airplanes / → All Tags

Very Light Jet Magazine Caters to the Ratplane Crowd

Enough with the A380. For those of you who prefer your jets petite, and extra-petite at that, Very Light Jet Magazine is here. Founder Bill Strait is a veteran pilot and aviation enthusiast who can't wait for VLJs to fly us into the future, or something like that. (He also hates 'spensive airport WiFi like us and, unlike us, has a book coming out called VERY LIGHT JETS: Our Air Taxis Into The Future.)

The Very Light Jet Magazine website contains Strait's blog, a collection of industry interviews (the latest with Cessna CEO Jack Pelton), a database of VLJ models, and a news section that will keep you up-to-date on all VLJ happenings.

Florida-based DayJet, the largest buyer of the Eclipse 500 model, is raring launch a VLJ air taxi service.

[Photo: msprague]

Related Stories:
· Very Light Jet Magazine [Official Site]
· Don't give up on VLJs [Flight International]

Joe Sharkey / Very Light Jets / Private Jets / Airplanes / → All Tags

All Aboard the Rat Plane

Fresh off a brush with death over the Amazon, Joe Sharkey is reporting that Eclipse Aviation is about to put Airbus to shame in the deliveries department, though Eclipse's most anticipated product is a mouse to Airbus' elephant. Still, as the A380 debacle continues, the Eclipse 500 "very light" jet might just be zooming around soon.

Sharkey reports that the first order could be delivered to a California aviation company "as early as this week." Nine more should be rolled out this year, with a whopping 515 expected to be delivered next year. The news is most likely to affect you when the jets start being used at air taxis, or sooner if you are all high-class and looking for a private ride. We are looking forward to hearing about the air taxi experience, but we will leave the testing up to you.

[Photo: brettwayn]

Related Stories:
· Memo Pad [NYT]
· Joe Sharkey's harrowing tale [Jaunted]
· Hey Airbus, Wake Us When You're Ready [Jaunted]