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Airborne 04.06.16: Virgin America Sale, CT/CTLS Shipments, Lancair IV-P Upgrade

Also: Icon On eBay, SFIP16 Published!, 787 Airspeed Safety, Pilatus Sales, Soloy Acquires A36 Bonanza Turbine STC, Becker Avionics

Alaska Air Group and Virgin America have announced that their boards of directors have unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement, under which Alaska Air Group will acquire Virgin America. The aggregate transaction value is approximately $4.0 billion. With an expanded West Coast presence, a larger customer base, and an enhanced platform for growth, Alaska Airlines says they will be positioned to provide more choices for customers, increase competition

Classic Aero-TV: A FADEC Engine For LSA - UL Power's UL350is Aero Engine

Minimize Your Cockpit Workload With FADEC...

ANN News Editor Tom Patton talks with Robert Helms, the General Manager of UL Power North America. Helms explains that UL Power is located in Belgium and got its start in aircraft engine production in 2006. Their first engine was used in a European light helicopter. The 350iS engine is designed from the ground up as an airplane engine, and in many respects it’s typical of a Continental or Lycoming engine but has the advantage of modern technology. Ideally suited for light sport aircraft, it delivers 20 H.P. more than the continental 0-200 but is 80 pounds lighter.

Airborne 04.05.16: Blue Origin Threepeat, B-Model Sonex, Piper M600/UND Order

Also: NTSB Safety Alert, SFIP16 Published, Small UAV Coalition, Quest Update, DJI v Yuneec, Parkland College

Blue Origin completed another successful launch of its New Shepard booster, and this is the third successful use of this booster, and the third successful booster recovery. On its website, Blue Origin stated that "New Shepard flew again on April 2, 2016 reaching an apogee of 339,178 feet or 103 kilometers. It was the third flight with the same hardware. We pushed the envelope on this flight, restarting the engine for the propulsive landing only 3,600 feet above the ground, requiri