Eclipse Aviation

The Eclipse Aviation Corporation was the Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States-based manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ), and also at one time proposed developing the Eclipse 400 single-engined jet. The company was founded in 1998 by early Microsoft employee and former Symantec CEO Vern Raburn. Due to Raburn's relationship with Microsoft, Bill Gates was a major stakeholder in the Eclipse project. The company was known for helping usher in a new category of VLJs when the Eclipse 500 was first delivered in late 2006. In October 2008, production of the Eclipse 500 was halted due to lack of funding. The company entered an unsuccessful Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2008, which was converted into a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation procedure in February 2009. In the final Chapter 7 procedure, completed on August 20, 2009, there was only one bidder, a new company formed to acquire the assets, Eclipse Aerospace. Eclipse operated service centers at Albuquerque International Sunport, Gainesville Regional Airport in Florida, and Albany International Airport in New York.