VLJ Visionary Vern Raburn Dead at 75

Entrepreneur and tech pioneer introduced the concept of the very light jet with Eclipse Aviation.

Meg Godlewski

Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 01:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

Vern Raburn, who was the mind behind friction-stir welding and the concept of the very light jet, is dead at 75. [Credit: Living Legends of Aviation]

Key Takeaways:

Vern Raburn, a prominent technology and aviation entrepreneur, passed away at 75, known for executive roles at Microsoft and Symantec.
He founded Eclipse Aviation in 1998, introducing the "very light jet" (VLJ) concept and developing the Eclipse 500 to make point-to-point air travel more accessible.
Raburn was a pioneer in aviation manufacturing with friction-stir welding and received the Collier Trophy for the Eclipse prototype, despite the company's eventual bankruptcy.

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Vern Raburn, the aviation entrepreneur and founder of Eclipse Aviation who also served as an executive vice president of Microsoft and CEO and chairman of Symantec, died Saturday in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 75.

Raburn, known for his keen sense of technology, enjoyed a career that included serving as executive vice president of Microsoft in the early days of the company. He would go on to become the CEO and later chairman of Symantec before joining the Paul Allen Group, where he handled investments for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, an athletic and aviation enthusiast.