One Aviation has announced the first flight of the wing that will hold up its EA700, known as the Eclipse Canada until recently. The wing was attached to a modified legacy airframe for the testing. Details of the flight are unavailable because of technical issues with their news release but the company’s Facebook post says the first flight lasted about 80 minutes and went well. “The aircraft felt very solid, a testament to the engineering and build teams,” said test pilot Jerry Chambers.
The EA700, known until June as the Canada Project, is an enlarged version of the original Eclipse 500/550 with a bigger wing, bigger engines and a fuselage extended by 14 inches, including the addition of a third cabin window. The result is a significantly more capable Eclipse that can climb directly to 43,000 feet, has a range of around 1500 NM and can service high and hot locations more reliably.
