Awards News > ECLIPSE AVIATION WINS 2005 COLLIER TROPHY

Eclipse Aviation Corporation has won the 2005 Robert J. Collier Trophy "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America.”  The 95 year-old trophy, aviation’s most prestigious award, will be presented to the company “for leadership, innovation, and the advancement of general aviation” in the production of very light jets, specifically, the Eclipse 500.

Eclipse joins past winners of the trophy including Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield, the crew of Apollo 11, and SpaceShipOne.  The award is administered by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA).

Announcing the 2005 winner, NAA President and CEO David Ivey said the selection committee’s criteria included recognition of the rich heritage of the Collier Trophy, and “the spirit of entrepreneurship, technical innovation, and the impact on American aviation,” exemplified by the Eclipse 500.

Led by Eclipse’s founder, president and CEO Vern Raburn, Eclipse is applying innovations created in the technology industry to drive down cost, increase performance, improve safety, and spur a new type of air travel—the air taxi.

Innovations used in the Eclipse 500 include friction stir welding, the PhostrEx fire suppression system, electromechanical actuators and digital electronics with integrated software.

Perhaps the company’s greatest contribution is making jet technology available to a larger segment of the population.  With an acquisition cost one-third of today’s small jets and the lowest operating cost per mile of any jet, the Eclipse 500 provides the lowest jet costs ever achieved.  As a result, almost 2400 Eclipse 500’s are on order.

In an endorsement to the Eclipse nomination, Microsoft founder and Eclipse investor Bill Gates said: “True to the spirit of excellence and advancement that the Robert J. Collier award stands for, I believe the Eclipse 500 represents the best of aviation’s rich past—and its bright future.”

The presentation will be Monday, May 15, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.

Photos: (Top left, the 1911 Robert J. Collier Trophy, on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum; Top right, the Eclipse 500 very light jet; Center right: Eclipse President and CEO Vern Raburn making a presentation to the 2005 Collier Trophy Selection Committee; Bottom, Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt present previous Collier Trophies.)

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