I hate it when there is an over-abundance of bad news to report. As if Eclipse wasn't worrying me enough, TMCNET.com just published an article about how Eclipse laying off 600 workers signals changes that could threaten Albuquerque's entire economy.

I was surprised and not altogether pleased to hear earlier this summer that Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn had relinquished his position as part of a deal to secure more funding for his company. I've remained optimistic that things would still work out for Eclipse, but I just came across a few facts that worry me a bit.

I just ran across a Seattle PI blog entry by James Wallace that was not at all kind to Vern Raburn or his work in creating the Eclipse 500 and market for Very Light Jets. Looking through Mr. Wallace's other work, I can tell that he keeps up on aviation pretty well. All the same, I wonder if he and some of the people he qotes are a little too energetic in their trashing of Raburn.

Piper just announced the first flight of their new PiperJet on Wednesday, July 30th, marking another step in the development of the VLJ market.

The press release gave the feeling that Piper has successfully designed their jet to take advantage of the efficiency and reduced noise of a single, tail-mounted engine without major adverse effects in pitch control. It seems to hold a unique place in the VLJ market. It offers the economy of a single engine, but seeks to provide the luxury you might expect of some slightly larger jets.

I was very surprised to read that Eclipse Aviation founder and CEO, Vern Raburn is stepping down from his position to be replaced by Roel Pieper. (Raburn will stay with the company, working in a different position.)

I received a press release this morning about the latest entry into the Very Light Jet market: the Stratos S714. Based on the idea that some VLJ customers want more for their buck, the S714 promises to carry 4 passengers 1500 miles at 400 knots on a single tank of gas.

When Cirrus unveiled their first functional Jet, I figured it would be at least a few weeks before it flew. I'm excited to be able to report that I was wrong. The Jet flew yesterday, July 3rd, at Duluth International.

If you stop by the webpage for the latest news about the Cirrus Jet, you'll see some great pictures of their first test aircraft. Cirrus plans to begin flight testing soon and we hope to see it hit the VLJ production market soon.