The Eclipse 500 was built by Eclipse Aviation between 2005 and 2008 before the company went into bankruptcy protection with the downturn in the private aviation market in 2008 and the cancellation of almost half of the orders on the books for the 500 due to the bankruptcy of DayJet, which had based its business model on the use of the Eclipse 500.

The 550 is essentially the same airframe as the 500 with some upgrades improve the aircrafts flying capacities with improved avionics. Deliveries of the new 550 will progress in 2013.

The 500 and 550 can fly safely above the weather with a ceiling of 41,000 ft. Its also the most efficient very light jet currently on the market and is the least expensive as well, with a starting price of $2.7 million, while its closest competitors are well over $3 million.

The new 550 will have the ability to fly for Flight Into Known Icing (FIKI) including a new fully integrated avionics system, Avio IFMS, that acts as a virtual co-pilot, lessening pilot workload. The new avionics systems also have Auto Throttles, Synthetic Vision, and Enhanced Vision, which can provide additional situational awareness in flight.