That’s right, you can actually park the ICON A5 in your garage. It’s essentially a high-wing flying boat-type amphibious monoplane with a carbon fiber airframe and retractable undercarriage. The A5 seats two people in an enclosed cockpit and is powered by a single 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912 iS engine driving a three-bladed pusher propeller. Continue reading for more.
5. Spin Resistance
Dornier-style sponsons provide hydrodynamic stability, housing the retracted main landing gear, and act as a step for crew and passenger. The wings can be folded aft for ground transport and storage.
4. CEO Flight
Equipment includes an angle of attack indicator, an unusual feature in general aviation aircraft. An airframe ballistic parachute is optional.
3. Sizzle
On 6 August 2012 Icon announced that Cirrus Aircraft would produce composite airframe components for the A5 at its Grand Forks, North Dakota facility.
2. Flight
The airframe parts will be shipped to Icon’s Tehachapi, California plant for final assembly. In August 2012 the first production aircraft was anticipated for delivery in mid-2013 against 850 customer orders that company says it held at that point.
1. Discovery
In the 2009 IDEA/BusinessWeek Design Awards, ICON was awarded Gold in the Transportation Design category. The competition included all cars, motorcycles, watercraft, and every other motor vehicle designed in 2008. ICON was also awarded a 2009 Gold Spark Design Award and a Design Distinction in ID Magazine’s Annual Design Review.
