Originally Posted by
SabreDriver
I still think the E500 is a pretty good value for what you get for about 1.6 Mil/copy.
I looked at the Eclipse 500 pretty hard as a trainer, and when we looked at it, with Jet-A at about $3/gal that translated to roughly $330/hour to operate at M.65 in cruise, including maint and insurance, which translated to roughly 1/3 the cost of a T-6 Texan, and even less than that of a T-1 and way less than a SabreJet.
But if they don't figure out all the "magic" and ground the thing, it will not be such a good value.
I find it laughable that anyone is still thinking the Eclipse is a good value. The price is now around $2.1 million, roughly $600k less than a Mustang. And for your $2.1 mil you get a plane that doesn't have a working FMS, Icing certification, or FADEC units that work. You couldn't pay me enough to fly in an Eclipse.