As you all well know by now, Eclipse aviation has gone bankrupt, hundreds of jobs were lost, and at the end of the line, only 267 Eclipse 500 jets were ever made.

My stepfather was working on a jet for a client performing an aftermarket repair on the aircrafts autopilot (of which several features, such as autothrottle, will never be operable). This Saturday, the repair was finished and he brought me along for the test flight to see if I could take a ride. The owner was nice enough to say yes.

The airport was Belen Alexander Municipal, an airfield known for its fierce crosswinds along the runway, and it didn't dissapoint today, on takeoff, the jet was buffeted around something fierce by the winds and half the flight took place in pretty rough turbulence. The autopilot thankfully held out and performed very well. My stepfather was allowed to land the plane (he had simulator time).

So, I can say now that I am one of the select few who ever experienced the Eclipse 500. It was only a 10 minute test flight, but with this jet being so incredibly rare (only 267 ever made), just being inside of one might have been enough.

The engines have a high pitched whistling noise to them, by the way.

Great way to spend a Saturday, I must say.