Just a week before NBAA, Eclipse Aviation held its grand opening ceremony for the customer training center at the Double Eagle II Airport (KAEG) in Albuquerque which will be the site of its intense pilot training program. Training has been a huge safety concern since pilots would be transitioning to a high-performance jet, many for the first time. However, Eclipse has an extensive program designed to address those concerns and others. During last year’s hearing into the impact of VLJs on the system, Eclipse detailed its program for senators saying it is more typical of commercial airline pilot training than normal general aviation training. (See Sidebar VLJ Training Standards)
“This Customer Training Center is the first step in our commitment to create an Eclipse Aviation campus and help grow the city's planned Aerospace Technology Park at this airport," said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. "This new facility also shows our dedication to providing our customers with the ultimate training experience.”
Eclipse 500 customers will receive all of their classroom and simulator training at the center including the type rating course and recurrent training. The 41,500 square foot two-story facility will accommodate four simulators, four classrooms and eight briefing rooms. The first Flight Training Device (FTD) has already been installed and put to use shortly. An additional full-motion simulator will be certified and operational in the coming months, with four full motion simulators operational by the end of 2008. Eclipse 500 pilot training will transition from the current in-aircraft training to full-motion simulator training.
The center is located on 3.5 acres of Eclipse Aviation's 150-acre tract, which borders the northern boundary of Albuquerque's Aerospace Technology Park at Double Eagle II airport. In the coming weeks, training personnel will start moving their offices to the facility. The company plans to employ approximately 100 people at the Center when it is in full operation.

Sidebar
VLJ Training Standards
The training program will provide a level of training typically available only to commercial airline pilots, said Eclipse President Vern Rayburn, adding the company will refund the deposit of any customer who can't successfully complete its training program.
Pilots must undergo a written pilot qualification review, as well as a flight skills assessment in a full-motion simulator focusing on instrument proficiency and airmanship skills. Each pilot will be required to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test to help tailor the training program to their individual personality type. Based on the results of the initial testing, supplemental training may be required for some customers prior to beginning the type rating.
Training covers the basics of operating a jet and emergency situations. The Jet Basics Self-Paced Study Course, in a CD format, provides an overview of jet aircraft and their operating environment. Topics include jet engines, high altitude physiology, high altitude and high airspeed aerodynamics, and high altitude flight planning, weather and radar. The emergency situations training will provide hands-on upset recovery training in Eclipse's L-39 jet. In addition to classroom work on physiology and hypoxia, candidates will experience actual hypoxia training with a mixed gas simulator.
After the foundational training is complete, pilots will transition to the Eclipse 500 type-certificate training which is in four parts. They include: self-paced study of the Eclipse 500 aircraft systems; classroom training; simulator training; and, actual flight training in the Eclipse 500. The type rating transition course will provide classroom instruction that emphasizes FITS scenario-based training to build good judgment. Pilots will then take a type rating examination in the aircraft or full-motion simulator once the simulators are certified.
Depending on the pilot's experience, following completion of the type rating examination, some pilots will receive their type rating in single-pilot operations. Others will be required to fly with experienced mentor pilots, which is similar to an airline-style initial operating experience. This pilot mentor program will include operations in high-density traffic areas, the high-altitude weather environment, and will ensure that the pilot displays the proper proficiency to operate as a single pilot in the jet environment. Completion of the mentor program is not based on hours flown but on actual proficiency.
Recurrent training will be required for all Eclipse 500 pilots with the frequency dependent on individual pilot skill level and experience. For the more experienced pilot, one-year recurrent training will be the norm. For pilots requiring the mentor program, six-month recurrent training will be an initial requirement. Recurrent training will also include web-based home study, classroom review and a proficiency check in a simulator.