Mr. Press’s Little Eclipse Jet

Mike Press’ EA500 gets maximum attention on the ramp at the Atlantic Aviation FBO at Atlanta’s DeKalb Peachtree Airport

Mike Press didn’t have to ask me twice if I wanted to deep-six my Delta Air Lines coach class ticket from Atlanta to Baltimore on September 27 to fly home in the right seat of his Eclipse 500.

We had both been visiting the National Business Aviation Association’s yearly schmooze fest in Atlanta and happened to be leaving on the same day. As someone who writes about very light jets (VLJs) and small jets of all sorts, I was keen to get some actual experience in the equipment that I write about so frequently.

Press, president of Single-Pilot Jet Management (SPJM), the top reseller of Eclipse 500 positions and previously owned aircraft, owns the fourth delivered model (N229BW) and was the first owner/operator to complete EA500 training. He has sold more than 75 EA500s through SPJM and logged more than 200hr on Bravo Whiskey, often for demonstration flights like this one.

Though he had not intended to fly from Atlanta to St. Louis via the Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI), Press amended his route to give me a glimpse of the what all the VLJ fuss is about (plus the detour gave him an excuse to visit Northrop Grumman’s BWI-based unit, a company the former Air Force fighter pilot and consultant has done a bit of contracting with as a civilian.)

We decided to depart Atlanta’s DeKalb Peachtree Airport at 9 am on September 27th. I arrived at the airport just before 8 am. Asked by the staff which plane I was rideing in, I said the Eclipse 500. The woman behind the counter returned a perplexed look, but a lineman nearby smiled and said that yes, an EA500 was indeed parked in the hangar.

Similar experiences occur wherever the aircraft goes, says Press. People either don’t know what the heck an Eclipse 500 is (including some air traffic controllers we spoke to enroute) or people have heard of it and require the owner/operator to put schedule aside to give a tour. Time should cure both.

Flying to Baltimore were myself, weighing in at 180lb (conservative), Press, at 210lb and Pete Sudekum, also about 180lb. Sudekum is director of aircraft sales for St. Louis Aircraft Sales; he and Press and are teamed up to sell Eclipse 500s. Sudekum is a former Embraer ERJ regional jet pilot for the airlines. Four or five years of RJ hell nicely removed his desire to be an airline pilot and he now has a job he truly likes – selling airplanes.

Peter Sudekum loading our luggage

Along with 570lb of people, we had a full-fuel load of 1500lb and approximately six pieces of luggage that I estimate weighed about 100lb, filling the entire space behind the two back seats.

Press’ EA500LX was configured with three seats in the cabin with baggage space behind the two rearmost seats. The aircraft did not feel the least bit small, either in the passenger compartment or in the cockpit, which I found surprising given my preconceived notions about the VLJ. Though the LX’s leather seats were comfortable and solidly made, some of the other interior components were ill-fitted and loose, for example the various mouldings on the sides and ceilings appeared ready to detach. Press says such nits have been taken care of on later models.

Also missing from Press’ plane were amenities he says have been promised for later, after the initial rush of getting the aerodynamic modifications and new AvioNG avionics retrofits completed on the existing fleet. Missing were arm rests for the pilot and copilot seats, and sun visors for the cockpit windows.

On the exterior, I noticed a gap in the joint between the front accessory compartment cover and the airframe. The compartment holds equipment including the air conditioning system, and is not meant to be opened on a regular basis. Press tells me that every time the cover is removed, the gap must be filled with caulking. In this case, he had gone flying before the caulking was dry. The airflow had pulled the material out of the joint in places, leaving a small gap.

Gap exposed in top of nose compartment cover

With 1500lb of fuel (full tanks), three adults and luggage, I estimated that we started the trip at maximum gross weight. Thanks to NBAA traffic leaving the airport on IFR flight plans, weight would not be an issue – we spent nearly an hour waiting in line for takeoff, both engines idling.

Thanks to automation, starting the engines is largely reduced to turning on the batteries and flipping an overhead switch to the “start” position for each of the two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F FADEC-equipped engines, each of which looks to be small enough to pick up in bear-hug fashion when standing alongside the fuselage.

After waiting in a business jet conga line for nearly an hour in perfect VFR weather, we finally received clearance to takeoff. The EA500 accelerated quickly, reaching the target rotate speed of about 90kt. First impression – this is a very small jet that feels like a much larger jet. Ride was solid, and reminded me of what it might feel like to ride on a magic carpet…

Our flight plan called for a cruise altitude of FL350, which seemed strange at first for such a small airplane. Though air traffic control kept us below that level for about 20 minutes, after we cleared the busy Atlanta area, we were given incrementally higher clearances until reaching FL350. Press let me fly the plane through FL290, after which RVSM rules require the autopilot to do the flying. I found the sidestick controller quite pleasant to fly with, though roll forces were a bit heavy for a guy who spends his days typing on a computer. It was also fascinating to watch commercial airliners whiz by just 1,000ft above, and it brought home the need to stay vigilant about wake vortices from those much heavier vehicles.

With the current version of Avio avionics, there is no flight management system, coupled autopilot or even a GPS for that matter. Press used a Garmin GPS496 with satellite weather as the primary navigation tool, though we tracked the appropriate VORs with the Avio system as well, using the autopilot’s altitude and heading-hold modes. Eclipse intends to rectify the situation when it begins retrofits with the AvioNG later this year, along with the performance modifications and FADEC upgrades the company says will boost cruise speed to 352kt at FL360, burning 400lb of fuel per hour

Press’s EA500 performed well with reference to the as-delivered book numbers for his aircraft. We expected 330kt at FL350; we got 334kt true airspeed at FL350, burning approximately 210lb per hour on each engine, with engines running at 97.3% N1 and ITT of about 680. We burned roughly 600lb of fuel from engine start to level-off at cruise altitude, leaving 900lb for the remainder of the trip.

Garmin’s GPS496 is essential equipment until the AvioNG is installed

The trip into Baltimore was uneventful, with a smooth landing in part due to Press’s skill and in equal part due to the Eclipse’s trailing link landing gear. We touched down at the target speed of 87kt. Press predicted we’d land with 500lb of fuel remaining. He was right -- the MFD read 500lb in the tanks when we exited Runway 33R and taxied into Signature Aviation.

Signature was gracious enough to offer me a free lift to the parking garage where I’d left my car four days earlier to catch the Delta Boeing 757 flight to Atlanta. Imagine the airlines or the TSA being so kind?!

I won’t have to tell you which leg of the trip I liked the best.