With the bankruptcy auction for the assets of Eclipse Aviation imminent, several groups are positioning themselves for the bid. One of those groups, a collection of Eclipse 500 owners known as the Eclipse Owners Group (EOG), has negotiated a letter of intent from Hawker Beechcraft to service Eclipse 500s should the EOG win the bid. The very light jets would be serviced at HBC's network of service centers. No fewer than three other groups are also in the running to acquire Eclipse's assets. They include: New Eclipse Acquisition LLC, founded by Phil Friedman of Wichita; Eclipse Jet LLC, which includes Eclipse owner Mike Press, deposit holder Mason Holland and former Eclipse Aviation CEO Roel Pieper; and another Eclipse owners' cooperative led by Bill Herp, CEO of Linear Air of Concord Massachusetts. Linear Air currently operates four Eclipse 500s.
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