Icon Aircraft, creator of the A5 LSA seaplane, is in the spotlight again as bankruptcy proceedings finally come to a close.
Short story: Icon will continue making aircraft, after the bankruptcy heard from a new buyer — not the buyer mentioned before in this recent article. The court sought a change in ownership and an effort to grapple with a large amount of debt.
From beginning (in April 2024) to an end in mid-June, this proceeding moved very swiftly. Here’s the final settlement.
“Icon In a Flat Spin
as Bankruptcy Looms”
Earlier in the day on June 18th, 2024…
Britain’s Flyer magazine reported online that Icon found a buyer but not the one mentioned in the prior link.
“Buy an aircraft manufacturer with a certified product and also selling in the Light-Sport Aircraft class for, what? …£100 million? Try again and aim low: just over £12m ($15.3 million),” wrote Flyer staff.
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New Buyer for Icon Reported — What Happens Now?
Icon is a global enterprise. While its headquarters remains in Vacaville, California, fabrication is done in Mexico, and ownership is in China. For some years, this American start-up has benefitted from Chinese investment.
How much investment has this California company attracted? Numbers I’ve been quoted vary enormously but all estimates run into many millions of dollars. If these guesses are even close to accurate, Icon has generated more investment funding than nearly any LSA producer. Only one outstrips them. That was a reported $200 million sale of Pipistrel to Textron, owner of Cessna and other aviation brands. I hope the aerospace conglomerate got all they hoped for because that is a super-premium valuation for any LSA company, even one as tech-savvy as Pipistrel.
Icon has performed reasonably well in recent years (“200 Delivered” report) but prior investments in the company require sales volumes that are difficult to reach, especially with a $400,000 price tag.
Upping the Ante Pre-Mosaic — Icon Bumps Useful Load of A5 LSA Seaplane
Mosaic is coming! Are you ready?
OK, Mosaic is still around 15 months away (based on FAA’s often-repeated statement). But good companies plan ahead for changes they can foresee. Icon is moving to increase capabilities on their A5 LSA seaplane… plus, the company is responding to customers who gave feedback to the California aircraft manufacturer.
As most readers now know, Mosaic LSA can be larger and therefore they can carry more. While these airplanes remain more than a year from first deliveries current LSA models are expanding their capacities in preparation.
Go Bigger!
Icon Aircraft released news about the 2024 A5. “After nearly two years of rigorous R&D, testing, and production preparation, Icon is excited to announce that it has increased the gross weight of the A5 by 60 pounds, resulting in a new useful load of 490 pounds (up from 430 pounds),” the company stated.
This change comes from a gross weight increase to 1,570 pounds.
News Wrap — A60 Junkers Takes Maiden Flight, Icon Launches Higher, Rotax Record Year
As the end of the year approaches and as excitement builds for 2024, I have some news items of interest to the light aircraft community.
Right before Christmas, read about the maiden flight of Junkers side-by-side A60, a year-end recap provided by Icon Aircraft, and year highlights from leading engine producer Rotax Aircraft Engines. Let’s get started…
Junkers A60 Flies!
Earlier this year, Junkers garnered lots of attention with their highly distinctive A50 Junior, an LSA with tandem seating and a look you won’t forget. Not everyone loves tandem, though, so here comes A6o, the side-by-side sibling of Junior.
We saw Junkers Aircraft‘s’ A50 Junior at Sun ‘n Fun 2023, where it made a splashy debut and flew for the first time in front of American pilots off the grass strip in Paradise City (the airshow within an airshow at Sun ‘n Fun). While most who examined it closely admired the detailed workmanship that went into it, not everyone desires tandem seating.
It Was a Very Good Year — Icon Is Back on Heading with Their A5 LSA Seaplane
Some might say Icon Aircraft has experienced a rather turbulent flight. The company came off the starting line boldly with splashy marketing including an immense, fancy tent right at the entrance to AirVenture. Each year at Oshkosh, the company hosted an annual party with special features and free drinks. It became a must-attend event for those lucky enough to get an invitation.
When A5 was finally accepted by FAA as a Special LSA, the company shrewdly arranged to get on the cover and be the lead article in the same month of American aviation’s top three magazines (by circulation): Flying magazine, AOPA Pilot, and EAA Sport Aviation. I’ve been around and observing aviation publishing for a few decades and I’d never see such a triple play before. These magazines are friendly to each other but nonetheless compete vigorously. The rarely (never?) want the same cover story as their rivals. Icon accomplished this without spending a dime advertising with the publications.
Seeking a Higher Altitude — Flight Design’s F2 and Icon’s A5 Go for Certification
Rather loudly and persistently I beat the drum about “affordable aircraft,” but readers also enjoy learning about other aircraft. I will never write about jets or multimillion-dollar turbines but I will continue to follow any “light” aircraft that meets LSA parameters now or after the Mosaic rule.
In this article I will describe how two aircraft are pursuing conventional certification: Flight Design’s F2-CS23 and Icon’s A5.
Contrary to common language, LSA are not “certified.” Instead a manufacturer declares they meet ASTM standards and FAA “accepts” that declaration. Frequently at first, FAA audited producers in a point-by-point check of their declaration plus verifying that producers use generally-accepted best practices in their manufacturing. Companies with prior approvals may not be required to undergo an audit; it’s always FAA’s choice.
I’ve been involved with ASTM for many years and I can attest to these standards being very rigorous. They were welcomed by many countries where they are in active use.
Icon A5 Crosses America — Company Debuts a New (more affordable) Way to Own
Have you noticed how much LSA seaplanes pop up on this website and all over the web and print world? I admit to fascination with the developments these versatile aircraft are bringing to market but my attitude is shared by many others.
For example, I enjoyed reading AOPA journalist Dave Hirschman‘s account of his solo trip crossing the width of the United States in an A5. Read the whole story here. Dave is an excellent writer and an experienced pilot. His account is very positive, yet balanced. Having flown the A5, I found his observations largely matched mine.
However, a problem exists.
As time passed, Icon has steadily raised the price of A5. What started as an affordable seaplane with innovative features has progressed to be an aircraft that even founder Kirk Hawkins agrees can only be bought by rather wealthy owners.
That same scenario can be used for Cirrus Aircraft and its SR20 and SR22 (their most expensive model that accounts for a solid majority of their sales).
Icon Updates: Crash Cause …yet Onward with Deliveries
Icon Aircraft CEO Kirk Hawkins shared a computer depiction of events leading to the crash of an A5 flown by factory chief pilot, Jon Karkow. From A5’s onboard black box Icon engineers assembled a second-by-second path for the ill-fated Light-Sport Aircraft. The data showed speed, power settings, flap position, and more.
According to the Napa Valley Register relating a National Transportation Safety Board report, “Pilot error caused the crash that killed two men in a small airplane on May 8, 2017 in Lake Berryessa.”
NTSB wrote, “The pilot, Jon Karkow, of Icon Aircraft in Vacaville, was flying too low, and mistakenly entered a canyon surrounded by steep rising terrain.” The investigative agency said Karkow had taken off from the Nut Tree airport in Vacaville at 8:50 a.m. accompanied by passenger, Cargi Sever, a new Icon employee. The pilot intended to take Sever on a familiarization flight in the Icon A5 amphibious Light-Sport Aircraft, said NTSB.
Information on Icon A5 Incidents; Preliminary Details
Normally we elect not to delve into accidents on ByDanJohnson.com but where it can be instructive and when readers are keen to learn more — and when we have direct information — discussing such matters can be useful.
To say the last month has not been good for Icon Aircraft would be a gross understatement. While the company struggles to increase production of their often-ordered LSA seaplane, they now must deal with much more difficult events.
Most recently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported, “On May 8, 2017, about 9 AM Pacific time [an] A5 impacted terrain while maneuvering near Lake Berryessa, California. The commercial pilot and passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage.”
The aircraft was piloted by Icon’s chief test pilot, Jon Karkow who was taking the recently hired Director of Engineering, Cagri Sever, for a familiarization flight. “The flight was Sever’s first in the A5 and was to be his introduction to the product on which he would be working at Icon,” reported the Vacaville, California company.
Icon Aircraft Advances Work of A5 Production
More than any other one light aircraft company tends to resemble a Silicon Valley company (indeed, they are not location too far away, in Vacaville, California). Icon Aircraft markets like the big tech companies with compelling messages, visually striking images, and impressive airshow displays (albeit almost exclusively at AirVenture). They’ve managed to capture all kinds of media in and out of aviation. Cessna or Piper wishes they could market as well as Icon.
However, the company has been so long in coming to market that they’ve also created a group of naysayers. I see it as similar to the elections Americans just endured where one or the other candidate has some vigorous supporters and large chorus of those espousing #NotSomebody.
Indeed when Icon announced a production slowdown this spring, the latter group grew louder. The company said it was “in order to improve the supply chain and production processes.” Not everyone believed them; it depended on which camp was doing the listening.
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