Eclipse Aviation

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)
Eclipse Aviation Corporation
Type Private
Founded 1998
Headquarters Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Key people Vern Raburn,
Founder and CEO
Industry Aerospace
Products Eclipse 500, Eclipse 400
Employees 1800
Website www.eclipseaviation.com
The Eclipse factory in Albuquerque. New Mexico
The Eclipse factory in Albuquerque. New Mexico

Eclipse Aviation Corporation is an Albuquerque, New Mexico based manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 and Eclipse 400 very light jets (VLJs). Founded in 1998 by former Microsoft employee Vern Raburn, the company employs about 1,300, which is more than twice the number from only a few years ago. Nearly 2,500 orders for the Eclipse 500 have been secured, with the first order belonging to Dave Crowe. The company plans to open facilities in New York and Florida. The facility in Florida is complete and is located at the Gainesville Regional Airport.

Founded in 1998 by former Microsoft employee Vern Raburn, Eclipse Aviation employs more than 1,800 and has service centers in Gainesville, FL, and Albany, NY.

Eclipse Aviation pioneered the use of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) in aircraft structures, using it extensively in the primary structure of the Eclipse 500.

Eclipse also developed PhostrEx, a fire suppression agent for use in aviation applications to replace halon, a greenhouse gas (GHG). It was developed by Eclipse Aviation for use aboard their Eclipse 500 very light jets, and is now being marketed to other aviation manufacturers.

Contents

[edit] Management

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  • Vern Raburn, president and CEO
  • Peg Billson, COO
  • J. Mark Borseth, senior vice president, CFO
  • Raymond Barratt, vice president, CIO
  • Andrew Vikta, vice president, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer
  • Dr. Oliver Masefield, senior vice president, senior fellow
  • Don Burtis, senior vice president, senior fellow
  • Bill Bonder, vice president, Supply Chain Management
  • Bruce Castle, vice president, General Counsel
  • Todd Fierro, vice president, Manufacturing
  • Patrick Duffy, vice president, Product Development and Engineering
  • Jack Harrington, vice president, Business Affairs
  • Andrew Kamm, vice president, Finance
  • Ed Lundeen, vice president, Contracts
  • Michael McConnell, vice president, Marketing & Sales
  • John Ricciardelli, vice president, Customer Experience & Support Services
  • Tina Rulo, vice president, Human Resources

[edit] Board of Directors

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  • Roel Pieper, non-executive chairman of Eclipse Aviation; CEO, ETIRC
  • Harold A. Poling, retired chairman and CEO, Ford Motor Company
  • Kent Kresa, chairman emeritus, Northrup Grumman
  • Alfred E. Mann, chairman and CEO, MannKind Corp.
  • Vern Raburn, president and CEO, Eclipse Aviation

[edit] Controversy

In April 2008 Eclipse obtained a court order in California ordering Google to provide the IP addresses of 29 anonymous contributors to the Eclipse Aviation Critic NG blog, which is hosted on Google's Blogger service.[1][2]

The blog, run by Shane Price of Dublin, Ireland is a forum for those who are critical of the company and its treatment of employees, customers and suppliers. Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn says that the pursuit of blog contributors is not to suppress criticism, stating: "We're not trying to suppress dissension or criticism. We're just trying to find out where it's coming from." Raburn has stated that since Eclipse employees and suppliers are bound by non-disclosure agreements he wants to ensure that these are not being broken.[1][2]

Price has indicated that some of the identities named in the court subpoena have not posted on the blog and that these may have come from a previous blog that was critical of Eclipse, but was shut down. The subpoena is being opposed by several people in court on the basis that since they have no connection to the company the disclosure of their identities violates their First Amendment rights.[1][2]

One contributor to the blog, Rich Lucibella, told CharterX Industry Headline News that he found Eclipse's actions "outrageous." Lucibella said:

"What Eclipse is attempting to do is just wrong, they want to take advantage of people's rights; I can't stand by and let them do that...Eclipse doesn't have the right to access other people's private information. For example, if three bloggers are or were employed by Eclipse but others aren't, then the rest of the people's privacy rights are violated under the First Amendment. Eclipse hasn't appeared to invoke the rule of reason."[2]

Lucibella has retained attorney Norman Malinski, and has filed a motion in the Superior Court of California to prevent Google from releasing contributor's private information.[2][3]

Eclipse CEO Vern Raburn was contacted several times by CharterX Industry Headline News for comment on this issue, but he refused to answer any questions.[2]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Grady, Mary (April 2008). Eclipse Seeks To Reveal Critics' Names. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Di Piazza, Karen (April 2008). Eclipse Aviation Critic Blogger Fights Eclipse Aviation Subpoena. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
  3. ^ Price, Shane (May 2008). The Critics Strike Back. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.

[edit] External links

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