VLJ leader announces 12-day auction of early aircraft

Oshkosh, WI — July 25, 2007 — Today at EAA AirVenture Eclipse Aviation, manufacturer of the world’s first very light jet (VLJ), announced that it will auction off Eclipse 500 aircraft serial number 000038 through a private label online marketplace powered by eBay. The auction will begin at 11:00 a.m. EDT July 30, 2007 and conclude at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on August 10, 2007. The aircraft being auctioned will be available for customer delivery in Albuquerque immediately following the close of the auction.

Eclipse Aviation is auctioning the VLJ on a dynamic online private marketplace powered by eBay. The auction is available to existing Eclipse Aviation Bidders’ Club members as well as anyone interested in purchasing an early Eclipse 500. The Bidders’ Club was originally offered in May 2000 and the exclusive members will have a bidding advantage because they have been accumulating Eclipse dollars since their initial deposit. Bidders’ Club membership is no longer available; however, non-members who place the same $5,000 refundable deposit prior to bidding will be able to bid in the online auction.

“We’re proud to retain our high-tech lineage by working with eBay, the pioneer of the online marketplace. eBay’s online Private Marketplace product is the perfect enabler to auction a number of our early Eclipse 500 delivery positions,” said Vern Raburn, president and CEO of Eclipse Aviation. “We’re taking this progressive auction approach to give people who don’t want to wait until 2009 the opportunity to buy an Eclipse 500 now and let the market decide what that could be worth.”

Serial number 000038 offers the following equipment: LX Edition, Slate LX Interior, Part 135 Package, Blue-Backlit Instrument Panel, CoPilot Package, SkyWatch HP, Class B TAWS, Radar Altimeter, Taxi/Recognition Lights, Installation Kit, Exterior striping in LX-3 style with Gamma Gray and Midnight Blue as the striping colors.

To bid on this aircraft, participants can log in to Eclipse’s online private marketplace at http://auction.eclipseaviation.com, register for the auction and place the required $5,000 refundable deposit which is applicable towards the winning bid.

Per the terms of the Eclipse Bidders’ Club, bidding will begin at 95 percent of the invoice price of the specified Eclipse 500. The balance of the winning bid is due to Eclipse within seven business days of the auction closing. Detailed information about the Eclipse 500 available for bidding, including performance specifications and installed equipment, is posted on the marketplace website at http://auction.eclipseaviation.com.

Original Release