Jet Maker Eclipse Files for Chapter 11

Eclipse Aviation Corp., a pioneer maker of small, low-cost personal jets, filed for federal bankruptcy-court protection Tuesday amid signs that current economic downdrafts are particularly hurting makers of smaller business aircraft and private propeller planes.

Beset by longstanding manufacturing problems, tightening global credit markets and negative publicity from some technical glitches with its so-called very light jets, the Albuquerque, N. M., company earlier this month temporarily failed to pay its 1,100 employees. Eclipse builds six-seat aircraft aimed at private pilots, as well as what the company hoped would become a viable industry of air-taxi operators.

Wall Street Journal, 26 November 2008

I have visited the airshow recently – unlike previous years it was almost empty. You could go to any plane with no appointment (including the BBJ, let alone the Gulfstreams) and all sales people, after about 10 minutes of conversation, admitted that there where almost no sales at all. I feel sorry for all those guys, who were buying 2 or more planes, of which only one was for their personal / corporate use and the rest were for sale at a premium. Now they are really fucked.