Ican Aircraft - The ICON A5 is an American amphibious light sport aircraft (LSA) designed and manufactured by ICON Aircraft. A concept aircraft first flew in 2008 and production tooling began in December 2012. The first production aircraft made its maiden flight on 7 July 2014 and made its public debut at EAA AirVture Oshkosh on 27 July 2014. A year later, it became at AirVture temporarily donated to the youth group Young Eagles, with the first official customer shipment of A5s in 2016. As of 2019, 100 A5s have been shipped. The aircraft is known for bringing a great deal of excitement and publicity to the LSA industry since its launch in 2008, despite the company's legal and financial issues which have slowed production over the past six years.
ICON Aircraft positioned the A5 with a recreational focus, stating that it competes with powered sports vehicles such as ATVs, motorcycles, personal watercraft, and snowmobiles, rather than other aircraft. ICON founder and former CEO Kirk Hawkins said of the plane, "It's not about complicated speed, range, payload, altitude, and cockpit stats. It's about getting you out there and interacting with your world." As part of this effort, the cockpit interior was designed by BMW designers,
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ICON Cable's media debut and mainstream media coverage generated significant interest from outside the aviation community.
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A prototype was built from 2007 to 2008 and made its maiden flight in July 2008. In January 2009, the company announced the completion of the first phase (27 flights) of a three-stage test program including water treatment. In February 2009, the prototype underwent a second phase of testing to improve its aerodynamic and handling characteristics.
In 2011, the updated "spin resistant" wing was flight tested and completed in February 2012. The design complies with FAR Part 23 certification requirements by using a cuffed wing with several proprietary propellers that change over the span of the wing.
Lotus Engineering superseded Designworks that same year to develop "car style" aircraft interiors and help develop lightweight component manufacturing.
In July 2012, the company filed an LSA rule exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration to raise the A5's weight above the weight limit for an amphibious LSA, arguing that the structure needed to make the aircraft spin-resistant had a gross weight of 1,680 lb. (762kg). In May 2013, the FAA requested further details about the procedure Icon uses to test aircraft rolling resistance at increased weights. The FAA also requires that the company provide a signed statement certifying that the aircraft meets the spin resistance criteria specified for light aircraft type certification in FAR 23.221(a)(2). In July 2013, the FAA granted a weight allowance.
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The production delivery date has been adjusted from the initial estimate. In June 2011, the company announced that it had secured an additional $25 million in investment, which was "needed to enable the company to complete development and production work — likely as early as next year [2012]."
In August 2011, the company stated it had sold positions for 694 A5s, up from the 400 originally sold in AirVture 2009.
On August 6, 2012, Icon announced that Cirrus Aircraft would manufacture composite airframe components for the A5 at its Grand Forks, North Dakota plant. The airframe components will be delivered to Icon's facility in Tehachapi, California, for final assembly. In August 2012, the first production aircraft was expected to be delivered in mid-2013 against the 850 customer orders that the company said had been placed at that time.
Mold production of the tooling masters began in December 2012, and the horizontal tailfin masters were shipped to Cirrus that month. The wing skin master shipped in February 2013.
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On June 20, 2013, the company announced it had organized production financing of over US$60 million, with the final money provided by Chinese investors.
As of July 30, 2013, the estimated manufacturing price had increased to $189,000 (from the company's initial 2008 estimated price of $139,000).
Production tooling construction was announced on 2 October 2013, which "will lead to assembly of the first pre-production aircraft to be completed in mid-2014".
On 27 July 2014, the first production A5 was unveiled at EAA AirVture Oshkosh. The aircraft was built between January and June 2014 at the company's headquarters in Tehachapi, California, and first flew on July 7. Icon stated that two additional aircraft would be built to "verify performance and complete FAA approval". At that time, the company planned to start shipping to customers in May 2015.
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The customer's first aircraft flew in May 2015, but deliveries could not begin until the company underwent an FAA audit, which ended on June 11, 2015.
In June 2015, the company indicated that it had 1,250 orders for the A5 and planned to build 500 units annually by 2017.
On 20 July 2015, Icon presented the first production A5 as a donation to youth group EAA Young Eagles, although the aircraft was returned to the factory on a trailer and was not left with EAA.
In August 2015, the A5 was flown by several aviation journalists, earning very positive reviews, highlighting its handling and cockpit ergonomics.
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In May 2016, the company announced that only 20 aircraft would be completed in 2016 instead of the previously planned 175, and all would be delivered to the training center. It was announced that customer deliveries would be delayed until 2017 at the earliest, due to the need to improve manufacturing processes to establish the aircraft design. The company also announced that due to problems starting production, it would lay off 60 employees and lay off 90 contractors, leaving 160 employees on the job. CEO Kirk Hawkins said the company had the investors it needed to continue operations during this period before increasing production and making the company profitable.
In September 2016, the company announced that production of composite parts would take place at the company's newly established plant in Mexico and was not under contract with Cirrus Aircraft. These parts will be sent to Icon's Vacaville facility for assembly. At that point, the company is expected to produce 30 of the aircraft by the end of 2017, compared with a remaining order of 1,850. AVweb writer Geoff Rapoport described the company as "plagued by production delays".
As of July 2017, serial production has commenced and six aircraft have been delivered. The company hopes to deliver a total of 15 aircraft in 2017 and 200 in 2018.
The first version of the model year 18 A5 was shipped in October 2017. These design updates included an improved nose wheel design, easier to read instruments and better illumination at night, a simpler and lighter oil cooler with better airflow for cooling, improved rudder pedal design, improved landing gear actuators, improved canopy design with no airspeed limits for window-removed flights and improved wing and fuselage access panels.
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In late October 2017, the company announced a hefty price increase for position holders for shipping for the 2018 model year. The price for the complete A5 will be $389,000, while the base price will increase to $269,000, although the base model won't ship until 2019 at the earliest. The price increase amounts to a 30% increase for the base model and more than 50% for the full-featured model. The initial price estimate in 2008 was US$139,000, which is expected to only increase between production starts due to the increase in the consumer price index.
As of 7 November 2017, the total number of aircraft produced was reported to be 23, including models delivered to flight training centres.
As of January 2019, the company said 90 aircraft had been completed and 1,300 back on order. 14 have been produced as of December 2018.
Due to the trade war between China and the United States, Chinese investment in the company was halted in August 2019. This resulted in layoffs of 40% of the company's workforce and reduced aircraft production to less than five aircraft per month, from the target of 20 aircraft. per month.
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In July 2021, the company decided to certify the aircraft in a major US aircraft category in an effort to increase sales outside the United States.
In April 2016, the ICON A5 purchase agreement was published and noted by the aviation media containing many controversial elements that are not normally found in aircraft purchase agreements. This includes contractually required pilot training, maintenance, non-claim agreements, requirements that the factory airframe is overhauled every 2,000 hours or t years (whichever comes first), and an aircraft life limit of 6,000 hours or thirty years. . In addition, each aircraft will be equipped with cameras and recorders to monitor pilot behavior, which are the property of the manufacturer but must be maintained by the owner. The owner must agree to "support" the business. The prospective owner must sign the same agreement or confront the roommates.
The agreement was heavily criticized by the aviation media, including Plane & Pilots, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, AVweb, and the Experimental Aircraft Association.
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