I've been watching with great interest a little company out of New Mexico. Most of you are probably aware of the exciting things Eclipse aviation is doing with their new personal jet. It looks to me, IMHO that they are doing all the right things. I would love to see one of these in FS2K2, unfortunatly I have zero ability at creating anything but a mess for FS. Anyone out there willing to undergo a new project? HINT, HINT. www.eclipseaviation.com PS There are a few from FS2K but with fs2k2 could be improved on.

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I often mentioned this aircraft as a great candidate for GMAX work. I wish the folks who did the great work on the recently released MU-2 could take a crack at the Eclipse...In the interim, Abacus offers an FSDS Eclipse for $10.00... It's worth checking out, I feel... Here's a link:http://www.flightsimdownloads.com/catalog/s476.htm-John

Not sure what's the point of creating an aircraft that for all practical purposes does not exist in reality (far from FAA certification). Its final technical data is at this point .. on the paper. Yes, it is exciting project but I would rather wait when the product is commercialy viable and then have 100% realistic rendition of this aircraft in FS2k4 ...Michael J.

The Eclipse is in flight testing....that's well beyond the paper point, I'd say.... Considering the number of A380 models that were rushed into the freeware stream, I'd say that the Eclipse is a tad further along....

There is a lot of nosnsense going on in FS2k2 and A380 is a prime example of that :-lolIn order to do an aircraft justice one has to have access to a real thing to get sounds, cockpit (that will not change anymore), perhaps verify flight model, get some pilot who actually flew it, etc, etc. How can you do all the above with Eclipse at this point ? Perhaps I am unique but I refuse to "sim-fly" anything that was created based on info in someone's web site ...Michael J.

"Perhaps I am unique but I refuse to "sim-fly" anything that was created based on info in someone's web site ..."That is certainly your right, but to call it all nonsense is taking it a bit too far, I feel. Some fly the sim for 100 percent accuracy, and I admire them for that. Others, including myself, fly the sim for entertainment. Both are valid ways of enjoying the sim. IMHO, enjoyment of the sim isn't "nonsense". Whether it be via fictional aircraft, or aircraft in development, anything that adds to that enjoyment is worthwhile to me. I don't think it's anyone's place to question that, or start questioning the justification for aircraft being added to the sim...

JohnThe Eclipse is but one of these new generation baby jets.Also look at the new Citation mustang which should hit the market at around $2.4 mill.Look at the Century Jet.Its easy to make a first flight another matter to certificate the Eclipse.The Eclipse has many new building methods which will cause certification problems as well as the power plants themselves.Certification is a tricky expensive job and I hope that the Eclipse sees the market place before investment cash runs dry as it will be a dream machine for a very low budget jet.Peter

JohnThanks for the tip to Abacus, didn't mean to start a gang war, just was hoping for something to fly until my real one arrives. Had been thinking about buying a Meridian and still may, but if I can get two turbine engines for a third less than a single turboprop and an extra 100 mph,,,, we'll see.

I've been watching the Century jet project with interest, although it doesn't seem as far along as the Eclipse. But this is the first I've heard of the Citation Mustang... Any links to that project?And you are so right about the certification process. The investors in that project will get a bit jumpy if things fall behind. I understand there's yet another prototype to be built. I'm amazed those tiny Williams engines can move the jet at all!As for what aircraft receive attention vs. what aircraft don't, I thought of another thing after my reply to Michael. There have been many aircraft which have only seen flight once, maybe twice. Rutan's Voyager is one example. The Eclipse is flying now.... Lord knows if that will prove true a year from now, or even two years from now. But a good model of it in FS2002's stable has its place for those who love to explore the new and the unique....JohnEdit: Found a link to it.... Looks like an exciting project, the Mustang, with Cessna's name behind it. Not quite as fast as the Eclipse, but I have more faith in Cessna to deliver than a startup company. Can't wait to see someone model that in GMAX....

I was doing a search for repaints for Learjets and came across this model for Eclipse 500. It's for FS2000 but I am sure that you can make it work for FS2002.http://www.simviation.com/files/1jets/ecl500.zip[br][br][div align=center][br][link:members.cox.net/fstimes/wetimage.html]Click Here For Weather Image of the Day!

Thanks....Already saw that Eclipse and have it installed in FS2000, but didn't install it in FS2002 in favor of the Abacus Eclipse...it is good for freeware, but the Abacus design is probably state of the art for now, until a GMAX version comes along.In addition to the Century jet & the Mustang, there is also one called the Safire... Of all four, I believe the Eclipse is the only one currently flying... But of all four, the Safire looks the most fantastic... Popular Science's online site has a good discussion about the air-taxi industry, and the possibilities which may be opened up by this genre of light civil jet...-JohnP.S. A site which has the Eclipse, the Safire, plus some other jets is:http://www.fsjets.com/hangar.htmNot a lot of GMAX creations, but still a good site..

What amazed me was each engine only weighs 80lbs. I believe the technology came from the engines used in some missles.BobG

How much does a real Eclipse go for?Shane