Eclipse Boasts 2,072 Orders

Verne Raburn is proving the skeptics wrong . . . one step at a time. Less than one month after first flight of the Eclipse 500, the fledgling aviation entrepreneur announced that the light jet had racked up orders for 2,072 aircraft. Raburn called 1,357 of those orders firm-backed by nonrefundable deposits.

Until now Raburn and his associates have steadfastly refused to divulge Eclipse orders. With first flight behind it, the need for an additional $65 million in funding through certification, a weak economic climate and, perhaps, the desire to say "I told you so" to the assembled cynics, he has decided the time is right to go public with the numbers.

Following anticipated certification in December 2003, production rates of the Eclipse 500 are pegged at 140 in 2004, 550 in 2006 and a staggering 900 jets in 2006, Raburn says.