Another Chance for Eclipse?

A federal bankruptcy judge in Albuquerque, N.M., has approved a $40 million offer from Eclipse Aerospace to buy the assets of the former builder of Eclipse 500 very light jets. The new company said its first order of business is to get parts flowing to owners, followed by performing modifications and upgrades to in-service airplanes. Some of the existing 259 Eclipse 500s originally built by now-defunct Eclipse Aviation are grounded for lack of parts. All of them need upgrades, which the owners will have to pay for. The company's new owner also hopes to bring the Eclipse 500 back into production in the next six to 18 months.