The long-awaited auction of the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation could occur on June 24, Mike Press, owner of an Eclipse 500 and president and CEO of Single Pilot Jet Management, told Matt Thurber for the May 26 AINonline newsletter.
Press and Eclipse depositor Mason Holland have formed a company, now named Eclipse Aerospace, to bid on the Eclipse assets. If their bid is successful, they will focus on restarting Eclipse 500 maintenance and upgrade services, including working with suppliers to get parts flowing; then “see what we need to do to get the production line going,” Press said.
Meanwhile, Press told Eclipse operators that the Eclipse service network’s Chicago maintenance facility has received FAA approval to install flight-into-known-icing upgrades on Eclipse 500s, using Eclipse Aviation’s FIKI service bulletin procedures. The Chicago facility has access to all the parts needed for the mod, according to Press.
Eclipse Aerospace is offering Eclipse 500 owners discounts on parts and priority service in exchange for a refundable $100,000 deposit by a May 31 deadline, Thurber reported. The deposits will “be used to order parts, as well as provide working capital for the modification effort,” according to Press.
