Eclipse 400

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The Eclipse 400, originally called the Eclipse Concept Jet (ECJ), was a one-engine very light jet designed by Eclipse Aviation with Swift Engineering. It was a follow-up to the Eclipse 500 and the prototype first flew on July 2, 2007. The aircraft was publicly shown on July 23, 2007 at AirVenture and was meant to compete with small jets like the Cirrus Vision SF50, PiperJet, Epic Victory, and Diamond D-Jet. The 400 had four seats, a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PW610F engine, and a distinctive V-tail. The prototype, registered N5184U, was built in secret at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, with Swift Engineering saying it could be completed in about 200 days. About 60% of its parts were shared with the larger Eclipse 500.

Performance targets announced at the time included a cruise speed of about 345 knots (639 km/h) at 41,000 feet and an IFR range of 1,250 nautical miles. It was designed for a gross weight of 4,800 lb, empty weight of 2,480 lb, useful load of 2,000 lb, and a fuel capacity of 1,261 lb.

In May 2008, Eclipse began taking orders for the production Eclipse 400, priced at $1.35 million, with deliveries expected in late 2011. At AirVenture 2008, new CEO Roel Pieper said production would start if sufficient orders were received, but deposits would be refunded if there wasn’t enough interest. By August 2008, development was put on hold, and by October 2008 the company said certification had not begun and no deposits had been spent.

Eclipse Aviation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 25, 2008. Deposits for the Eclipse 400 became a point of dispute, with reports that some deposits were not refunded. In January 2009, the company’s assets were ordered sold, but the sale did not complete and the company entered Chapter 7 liquidation. The Eclipse 400 and its assets ended up with Eclipse Aerospace, and the project did not progress. The successor companies later became One Aviation in 2015, which also later went bankrupt in 2021 without pursuing Eclipse 400 development.