The idea that small is beautiful seems to have been lost on the aviation industry. But while most attention is lavished on the Airbus A380, the giant pterosaur of the skies, many think that the new, diminutive Eclipse 500, a mere bumblebee by comparison, is the aeroplane with the real potential to transform air travel. The Eclipse 500 is the first of a new kind of small aircraft called the very light jet (VLJ). It seats five passengers and a pilot, weighs 3,536lb (1,603kg) when empty and is so petite that seven of them could fit along the wings of an A380. The craft should receive final approval from America's Federal Aviation Administration later this month, and the world's first VLJ will be delivered to a customer.
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