OCEAN 41 PUBLISHED JANUARY 2012

Just for fun

Seagulls and ducks of the world, look out! The Icon A5, an all-new light sport amphibian aircraft, is the new must have big boy’s toy, with sci-fi looks suggesting it’s just dropped in from Alpha Centuri. By Anthony Twibill.

George Jetson and Scott Tracey would be beside themselves with desire for this futuristic flying machine. Appearing to draw its radical appearance from the sci-fi cartoon genres of The Jetsons and iconic Thunderbirds’ series, the exciting new Icon A5 light sports aircraft has in practice been developed by an experienced team of aviation specialists. Crafted from lightweight carbon-fibre, the sleek frame of the Icon A5 relegates to second place even the most seductive and shapely hulls of the 23rd century!

Led by Kirk Hawkins, a Stanford graduate and retired F-16 pilot, collaborating with a team of aeronautical and hydrodynamics engineering experts, creative designers and aviation industry stalwarts, the new company Icon Aircraft likes to say it is literally “reinventing flying” – inside and out – and it’s doing so with unmistakable designer style. For if this little aircraft never wet its hull nor flew the skies, it would still be one of the most stunning exercises in creative commercial design yet seen in the aviation industry. For such a tiny package, it brings new design in recreational flying machines to a hitherto unknown level of designer chic, with uber cool styling that succeeds in blending ‘sci-fi starfighter’ with contemporary form and function in a svelte suit of carbon curves.

FOLD-AWAY FUN Neat folding wings and lightweight design mean the A5 can be trailered by a car or even stowed aboard a super yacht.

Icon says its prevailing purpose is to bring the freedom, fun and adventure of flying to all. In many respects, the A5 is taking flying back to its essential roots, before the skies were filled with countless commercial aircraft, controlled airspace restrictions, onerous regulations and financially restrictive acquisition and pilot training costs. To fly for the pure joy of flight is their mantra.

The new company’s launch product is this ingenious A5 amphibious light sport plane. The A5 is capable of flight from land or water and features innovative (and somehow very sexy) folding wings that allow it to be trailered home from an airport, lake, or marina after a flight. Due to its compact (wings-folded) form the A5 can even be hoisted on deck aboard large motor yachts as perhaps the ultimate tender or luxury toy.

Icon Aircraft have been developing the project ever since the American Federal Aviation Administration’s dramatic regulation changes in 2004 created a new Light Sport Aircraft category. They believe that consumer-focused sport aircraft can do for recreational flying what personal watercraft did for boating. Their new A5 sport aircraft is not only designed to deliver an amazing and safe flying experience, but also to inspire us the way great sports cars do, and most importantly be great fun to fly.

The origin of today’s sport flying is deeply rooted in safety. In creating the new rules for sport pilots in 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recognised that the former rules were based on the complexities of transportation-based flying even though the majority of airspace outside of congested commercial airports goes vastly unused, except by recreational pilots.

The FAA also recognised that two of the more demanding and riskier flying activities for pilots – flying at night and flying in bad weather – weren’t necessary for recreational pilots. So, the FAA took these factors into consideration when they created the Sport Pilot license and Light Sport Aircraft categories in the U.S.A. Specifically, the FAA redefined recreational flying and spelled out limitations on when and where (daylight hours, good weather, uncontrolled airspace) and what (simple, light sport aircraft) sport pilots can fly.

Because of the limitations, training for sport pilots instead focuses on the basic fundamentals for flying. There was no need to log extra hours and training to cover more complex skills for transportation flying that are not required for sport flying. In addition, by creating the Light Sport Aircraft category, which limits the weight, speed and complexity of the aircraft, manufacturers are able to build aircraft optimised for safe operation during recreational use only.

Easy over-the-road transportability is another defining feature of the A5. As such, a lot of thought and engineering has gone into the trailer system. A customised amphibious trailer allows the A5 to be launched or retrieved just like a boat at a boat ramp, or launched and retrieved on land while on its gear, so the A5 is not only easy to fly in the air, easy to operate on land and water, but also easy to transport on the road!

Australia’s Civil Aviation Authority quickly followed suit with the introduction of a similar Light Sport Aircraft certification category in 2005.

Icon Aircraft have been committed to reaching the highest standards for handling qualities in the A5, resulting in an airplane that is fun to fly in all flight regimes, including the slowest end of the envelope. For instance, stall testing to evaluate and refine low-speed handling characteristics has proven the stall speed to be exactly as predicted - only 43 knots – giving the A5 stall characteristics that are benign and safer for less experienced pilots. With a take off speed around 45 knots and top speed in flight of around 100 knots, the A5 is easy to fly and control in the air and land on water or runway.

During its development the A5 has been going through a rigorous flighttesting regimen in order to deliver an aircraft that performs even better than it looks – and high standards have been set for both. For the land-testing phase of the A5, a series of test flights included takeoffs and landings from hard surface airports. The A5 performed exactly as designed and the landing gear stiffness provided the right balance of absorbing landing shocks while giving a ride that is stable and refined. Rotation for takeoff, a critical measure of correct landing gear placement, was effortless and achievable below the intended rotation speed, around 45 knots. The gear is electrically actuated at the simple flip of a switch and cycles quickly in less than 10 seconds. Directional control with differential braking provides very good maneuverability, with a full castering nosewheel allowing a tight turning radius, maneuvering the aircraft in a hangar or garage is effortless.

As this little aircraft is all about bringing the fun and some of that originality back to flying, the A5 has removable side windows to immerse both pilot and passenger in the experience of flying a sport aircraft ‘with the wind in your hair’.

As this little aircraft is all about bringing the fun and some of that originality back to flying, the A5 has removable side windows to immerse both pilot and passenger in the experience of flying a sport aircraft ‘with the wind in your hair’. This open configuration has been tested and no adverse handling was experienced.
The Icon test pilot noted no additional cabin noise and only a slight breeze in the cockpit so you need not wear goggles like the Red Baron!

Despite the Icon A5’s unconventional looks and all-composite construction, it is traditionally powered by a reliable Rotax 912 ULS engine, which can run exclusively on usual 91-octane unleaded auto fuel, or 100LL avgas if preferred, with average fuel consumption of only about 20 litres per hour. So, running costs are negligible, as is the relative purchase price for such a versatile light sport amphibian aircraft.

With a quoted price of only USD$139,000 (plus delivery and taxes) the Icon A5 may be an expensive water toy, but remembering that this “boat” flies at around 100 knots, skimming the wave tops or thousands of feet above the sea, it is one very inexpensive amphibian aircraft indeed. The freedom and fun of flight has rarely been presented in such an attractive and affordable new package, with extraordinary demonstrated interest from the public in these uncertain times. If you want one, you had better get your order in, as over 500 delivery positions have already been assigned as at December, and the estimated delivery date of the next available Standard A5 position is 2015!

One of the greatest features of the A5, and the particular reason why Ocean magazine is featuring it, is of course its amphibious capabilities. The A5 can be driven in or out of the water on its landing gear, flown from the water, and then flown back to the airport or grass strip – and vice versa. To make this process easy and robust for A5 pilots, the landing gear extension and retraction system has been thoroughly tested in the water. The gear is actuated in water and the A5 is driven up and down a boat ramp. As expected, the system functions reliably and the process is straightforward and convenient. The gear-testing phase demonstrated that the A5 is not only an exceptional light seaplane, but a fantastic land plane as well.

The A5 has also completed test flights in the ocean to assess salt water operations and landing in swells. The aircraft was flown from the Mojave Desert to Long Beach, where it flew for several days. As part of the testing at Long Beach, the A5 was regularly taxied in and out of the water on an unusually steep and narrow boat ramp with relative ease.