Variant
Eclipse 500
Eclipse 500 is an in-service member of the Eclipse 500 / 550 family, known for the original high-volume branch of the very light jet program.
Range 1,125 nm · Entry 2006
Eclipse AerospaceBusiness jetIn service
Eclipse 500 / 550 family
The Eclipse story, from first flight to lasting reputation
The very light twinjet that attempted to make personal jet travel dramatically smaller and less expensive.
Eclipse 500 / 550 family is a in service business jet built by Eclipse Aerospace. It first flew in 2002, entered service in 2006, and went on to shape airline fleets, passenger journeys, and aviation memory.
First flight
2002
Service entry
2006
Seating band
4 to 6
Eclipse 500 / 550 family is an in-service business jet by Eclipse Aerospace, first flown in 2002 and introduced in 2006, with typical seating for 4 to 6 and range up to 1,125 nautical miles.
Its place in business aviation comes from the combination of mission capability, cabin layout, operator use, and the reasons buyers kept the type or moved to its successors.
Range band
1,125 nm
Notable operators
Owner pilots · Air-taxi operators · Training operators
Source stack
- Official manufacturer product pages and brochures
- FAA or EASA type certificate material
- operator mission and cabin references
Variants
Representative variants
Variant
Eclipse 550
Eclipse 550 is an in-service member of the Eclipse 500 / 550 family, known for the restarted-production branch with updated avionics and systems.
Range 1,125 nm · Entry 2014
Specifications
Current public facts
- Manufacturer
- Eclipse Aerospace
- Program history
- Class
- Business jet
- Aircraft category
- First flight
- 2002-08-26
- Program history
- Service entry
- 2006
- Operator records
- Current status
- In service
- Fleet references
- Typical seating
- 4 to 6
- Operator and cabin references
- Range band
- Up to 1,125 nm
- Program literature
- Cruise speed
- 370 kt
- Planning data
Archive moments
Human context
The Eclipse story combines genuine technical ambition with a turbulent production history, yet hundreds of aircraft still give the design an active operating life.
Business-aviation pages stay focused on engineering, cabin layout, and mission logic instead of celebrity shorthand or lifestyle fog.
Timeline
Program milestones
- 2002
First flight
The Eclipse begins flight testing and establishes the public shape of the family.
- 2006
Service entry
The family enters passenger or executive service and begins building its operating footprint.
- Today
Current role
The family remains active in service and still shapes fleet, mission, or archive discussions.
Related news
Editorial context
No editorial dispatches are attached to this family yet. The aircraft record is live, and newsroom or archive coverage can be layered onto it later without changing the URL.
Forum threads
Community memory
Forum referenceEclipse
Eclipse lounge: operators, cabins, routes, and memories
Use this as the standing thread for Eclipse 500 / 550 family operator history, route logic, cabin details, and first-hand memory.
Forum referenceEclipse
Eclipse current fleet watch
Ongoing sightings, deployment shifts, new operators, route changes, and cabin updates for the Eclipse 500 / 550 family.