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Icon’s A5 Flies! Check the YouTube Video

By Dan Johnson || July 15, 2008 Leave a Comment

Visit YouTube to see the first flight of the Icon A5. (Inset) Founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins applauds the effort. *** If your LSA company has good first flight video of a new model, send me the location where it can be viewed.

I've rarely promoted watching a YouTube video in a blog post. And this obviously isn't the first SLSA (candidate) to make a first flight. But I'd repeat this many times if all first flights were as well documented as the first flight of the Icon A5 LSA seaplane. *** The L.A. company has shown unusual levels of professionalism and showmanship. So their creation of a quality video for a first flight comes as little surprise. *** Icon engineering team member Jon Karkow made the first flight on Wednesday, July 9th. Beside his engineering duties, Jon is an accomplished test pilot with a slate of first flights including the late Steve Fossett's GlobalFlyer from Scaled Composites. *** "Everything went as well as an initial test flight possibly could go; so I was very pleased," said Karkow. "The aircraft flew exceptionally well and met or exceeded our design expectations. The A5 seems to be a great aircraft right out of the box." *** A first successful flight is a thing to rejoice, of course, but lots of work remains. The prototype will go through many more trials and then a pre-production model will be built to verify all the ASTM standard compliance points. Production is expected in late 2010.

I’ve rarely promoted watching a YouTube video in a blog post. And this obviously isn’t the first SLSA (candidate) to make a first flight. But I’d repeat this many times if all first flights were as well documented as the first flight of the Icon A5 LSA seaplane. *** The L.A. company has shown unusual levels of professionalism and showmanship. So their creation of a quality video for a first flight comes as little surprise. *** Icon engineering team member Jon Karkow made the first flight on Wednesday, July 9th. Beside his engineering duties, Jon is an accomplished test pilot with a slate of first flights including the late Steve Fossett’s GlobalFlyer from Scaled Composites. *** “Everything went as well as an initial test flight possibly could go; so I was very pleased,” said Karkow. “The aircraft flew exceptionally well and met or exceeded our design expectations.

Finding New Pilots; Icon Takes a Novel Approach

By Dan Johnson || July 1, 2008 Leave a Comment

What a stunning design job the ex-Scaled Composites, SpaceShipOne engineers have done. If A5 flies nearly as good as it looks, it'll be a dreamboat flying machine. But the real story is their marketing strategy. Visit Icon at AirVenture 2008.

Most aviation participants have been wringing their hands over the declining pilot population. FAA's database of active pilots has dropped from 825,000 when I began flying to less than 600,000 today...all while the U.S. population has grown by 50 million. We are clearly doing something wrong, and have for too long had a too-inward focus. *** We have some worthy efforts of outreach. EAA has their fine Young Eagles program. AOPA has its Project Pilot. Companies like Cirrus rove from show to event with their mobile display. Yet we need to do much more. *** L.A.-based Icon Aircraft is one such company that is doing so, recently introducing their new Icon A5 LSA. While the company is presently focused on providing a fascinating new aircraft, they're looking beyond the existing pilot market. According to their CEO Kirk Hawkins, "Icon's mission is to bring the freedom, fun, and adventure of flying to the thousands of others who have always dreamed of it. Our research has shown that there is an enormous yet untapped consumer interest in aviation. To help unlock this potential, the Icon A5 is not only designed to deliver an amazing and safe flying experience, but is designed by some of the brightest minds in both the aviation and automobile industries to truly inspire us the way all great consumer products do." Only time will tell if Icon will succeed and the real trick is exactly how to reach all these new folks. But I'm pleased to see an airplane company looking outside the box. It's about time we stopped selling airplanes only to each other.

Most aviation participants have been wringing their hands over the declining pilot population. FAA’s database of active pilots has dropped from 825,000 when I began flying to less than 600,000 today…all while the U.S. population has grown by 50 million. We are clearly doing something wrong, and have for too long had a too-inward focus. *** We have some worthy efforts of outreach. EAA has their fine Young Eagles program. AOPA has its Project Pilot. Companies like Cirrus rove from show to event with their mobile display. Yet we need to do much more. *** L.A.-based Icon Aircraft is one such company that is doing so, recently introducing their new Icon A5 LSA. While the company is presently focused on providing a fascinating new aircraft, they’re looking beyond the existing pilot market. According to their CEO Kirk Hawkins, “Icon’s mission is to bring the freedom, fun, and adventure of flying to the thousands of others who have always dreamed of it.

LSA Industry’s Fast Pace…Approaching Model #100

By Dan Johnson || June 19, 2008 Leave a Comment

Innovation abounds in Light-Sport Aircraft design. The Icon A5 unveiling (top) raised the bar higher, but many planes have set new standards as evidenced by examples like (left to right) FP&A's A-22 Valor with its huge clear fuselage, the all-Americanized Cirrus' SRS, and the exotic wings of the Urban Air's Lambada. See them all at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008.

Despite an economic slowdown shared by all of aviation, the LSA industry is rich with entrepreneurs. Innovative new designs hit the market regularly. Consider this: In just over three years, the industry has certified an astounding 81 aircraft designs and several more are on the horizon. One hundred certified LSA might be available by 2009, in less than four years since the category was created by FAA. No one remembers anything close in FAA history. *** All Light-Sport Aircraft presently total about 1% of the U.S. piston engine fleet including all FAA registrations of all aircraft types and models. Yet three LSA years compare to 80+ Cessna years, so the new segment remains in its infancy. Consequently, the LSA industry may be acting precisely as needed -- focusing on innovation and diversity as proven by the number of new models meeting ASTM standards. Big sales will follow, many experts believe. *** Simultaneously, the industry is building infrastructure -- as demonstrated by our growing FIRM List. And as companies acquire market sophistication, one fact appears unassailable: LSA and Sport Pilot are the hope for growth in aviation. Conventional GA businesses are established and many are perhaps too comfortable. The greater likelihood is that LSA will be the segment to bring in a new round of aviators.

Not Your Father’s LSA; Icon A5 Grand Unveiling

By Dan Johnson || June 12, 2008 Leave a Comment

The amphibious Icon A5 is full of seriously-cool features (think Apple computer) but one right out of James Bond films is the Automatic Wing Fold system that can open or close the wings with human effort limited to pushing a button...sounds mighty convenient while on the water. Watch the unveiling.

One glance at almost any view of the Icon A5 will tell you this isn't like any Light-Sport Aircraft you've ever seen. Oh, the Nexaer was shapely and showed innovative thinking. And certainly, we have many fine LSA on the market. Yet nothing I've seen compares to the Wow! factor that comes when your eyes feast on A5. *** In a grand ceremony attended by 550 invited persons at company headquarters near LAX airport, Icon finally pulled the concealing drapery off their new LSA. Unless you're a contractor assisting Icon, you've probably never heard about the project, a tightly-guarded secret. *** This idea was given birth at Stanford University by F-16 fighter jock, Kirk Hawkins. He's enlisted as impressive a team as I've seen since Cirrus burst on the market exactly 10 years ago. For example, Icon's engineering staff is composed of the top people from Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites. The group creating the A5 formerly put their brain power into SpaceShipOne and Global Flyer, among many other projects. Vern Raburn of Eclipse jet fame is on the Icon board of advisors. Marketing experts were hired away from Red Bull. The eye candy interior of A5 employed auto stylists from BMW, Porsche, and Nissan. This story is just getting started, but those who want to touch and feel this dreamy LSA need only show up at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008, where A5 will make its public debut.

One glance at almost any view of the Icon A5 will tell you this isn’t like any Light-Sport Aircraft you’ve ever seen. Oh, the Nexaer was shapely and showed innovative thinking. And certainly, we have many fine LSA on the market. Yet nothing I’ve seen compares to the Wow! factor that comes when your eyes feast on A5. *** In a grand ceremony attended by 550 invited persons at company headquarters near LAX airport, Icon finally pulled the concealing drapery off their new LSA. Unless you’re a contractor assisting Icon, you’ve probably never heard about the project, a tightly-guarded secret. *** This idea was given birth at Stanford University by F-16 fighter jock, Kirk Hawkins. He’s enlisted as impressive a team as I’ve seen since Cirrus burst on the market exactly 10 years ago. For example, Icon’s engineering staff is composed of the top people from Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites.