Vern Raburn, Founder of Eclipse Aviation^®

The inspiration for Eclipse Aviation belongs to Vern Raburn, who founded the company in 1998 with a vision to extend the freedom of private jet travel to more people than ever before. Raburn, who served as the company's president and CEO for more than 10 years, believed it was possible to create a jet aircraft that general aviation pilots and enthusiasts could afford to own and operate.

Raburn's passion for aviation started early. He learned to fly as a teenager, and received his pilot's license at the age of 16. Since then, he has earned his instrument, multi-engine, commercial, and rotary flight ratings and holds type ratings in more than 16 aircraft types, ranging from World War II bombers to piston airliners to modern corporate jets.

Raburn's vision to put the practical benefits and exhilaration of jet travel within the reach of more people and companies than ever before propelled Eclipse Aviation to design, certify, and produce the twin-turbofan, six-place Eclipse 500^® - the first very light jet (VLJ). The revolutionary Eclipse 500 was greatly influenced by Raburn's high tech past. He believed that the more efficient a product could be made, the less expensive it would be to own and operate. Before Eclipse Aviation, the approach to designing and manufacturing airplanes had been basically the same as those used in the 1950s. By adapting innovative techniques that drove quality up and manufacturing costs down, Eclipse Aviation was able to make the Eclipse 500 the least expensive twin-engine jet to own and operate.

Raburn's entrepreneurial skills began in 1976 when he opened one of the nation's first computer stores. He joined Bill Gates as one of the first employees of Microsoft Corporation^®, where he served as President of the Consumer Products Division. Raburn also held executive management positions at Lotus Development Corporation, Symantec Corporation, Slate Corporation, and was President of the Paul Allen Group.

Raburn's high tech background and spirit to push the status quo resulted in the company's culture to explore better ways of designing and making jet aircraft. Among the innovations that Eclipse pioneered are friction stir welding, Avio NG Total Aircraft Integration^™, and the PhostrEx^™ engine fire suppression system. These firsts were instrumental to the company receiving the most prestigious aviation award in the United States — the 2005 Robert J. Collier Trophy, "for innovation in the advancement of general aviation through the design, development and manufacture of the Eclipse 500."

Under Raburn's leadership, Eclipse Aviation became the fastest general aviation jet aircraft manufacturer in history to produce its first 100 airplanes. Raburn also led Eclipse to design the Eclipse Concept Jet, the prototype of the Eclipse 400 single-engine, V-tail, four-place jet.

Eclipse Aviation, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, created a new standard of performance, innovation, and value in aviation. Eclipse continues to develop and offer the finest products and services available in aviation expanding and supporting Vern Raburn's vision of changing the way people travel.

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