Fuji Heavy Industries delivers the first Eclipse 500 production wing to Eclipse Aviation

Tokyo, June 2, 2006-Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), a global manufacturer of transportation and aerospace-related products and the maker of Subaru automobiles, delivered the first wing for the first customer Eclipse 500 production airplane, which FHI assembled in its division, Aerospace Company of in Utsunomiya, Japan, to Eclipse Aviation.

The Eclipse 500 can accommodate 6 persons and is planned for the multi-purpose use, such as “air-taxi” that is a new transportation system forecasted to grow rapidly. Eclipse Aviation has just under 2,500 airplanes on order, and is expected to acquire Type Certification from Federal Aviation Administration for Eclipse 500 in June this year.

The Eclipse 500 wing was designed by Eclipse Aviation and has an aluminum-based structure with 5-meter span. FHI is in charge of manufacturing the wing including system installation. In the Eclipse 500 wing production, FHI is using Eclipse Aviation developed state-of-the-art and low-cost Friction Stir Welding technology, and a volume production assembly system. By doing those, FHI will establish volume and low-cost production to achieve its world-class performance in quality, cost and delivery.