The instructor landed us back at the airport to finish off the day. The views and experiences you can get from this plane are truly spectacular. We even floated up to a sand bar, opened the canopy, and hopped out. I was then able to take off from the water, land and take off again, taxi on the water, and fly around a bit more at a variety of altitudes, checking out the scenery. This is even true when depth perception is skewed when landing on glassy water. The angle of attack gauge - and other basic gauges - make it super easy to fly, land, and take off with complete comfort. I then landed on the water smooth as can be with little assistance. We found a good spot in open water on the mighty James River, and the instructor talked me through the landing. How cool is that?! (Photo/Bryon Dorr)Īfter rolling back down the ramp, waving goodbye to the stunned local fishermen, retracting the landing gear, and taking off, I was given the controls again. What blew my mind was that we then dropped the landing gear while floating in the water and then drove up a boat ramp and out of the water. We were now putting around in a boat, which even has a retractable rudder. We picked a spot on a small waterway by a public boat ramp, and the instructor took the controls and smoothly landed on the water. (Photo/Bryon Dorr) First-Time Pilot Lands & Takes Off on Water The massive glass cockpit offered expansive views that just aren’t on offer in many other aircraft. The Icon A5 has heat but does not have air conditioning. We had the side windows out, which was great for circulating air on this hot summer day and perfect for photography. The interior was designed by a luxury car designer, which translates to a familiar space - even with never having been at the controls of a plane before. Inputs were responsive, but not overly so. This was my very first time at the controls of an aircraft, and it was amazingly intuitive. Within a minute or two, I was familiar and relatively comfortable with the controls. (Photo/Bryon Dorr)Ī control stick between my legs, a rudder pedal for each foot, and a central throttle lever are all that I had to juggle. Once airborne and cruising at about 500 feet off the deck, he told me to take the controls. He ran me through the startup procedure, a short checklist, and then he took the controls for a quick taxi and takeoff from the tiny Willamsburg-Jamestown Airport. I sat left seat in the Icon A5 as my instructor sat to my right. Talk about a great way to introduce people to general aviation! (Photo/Bryon Dorr) Experiencing the A5 It sees 4,000+ kids sit in it each semester. Since that time, the plane has made the rounds at the local schools promoting aviation. In 2020, Icon got one of its test planes in the hands of the Virginia Department of Aviation. So far this is all U.S.-based, with the company working toward having an internationally certified (FAA type certification) plane on offer by the end of the year. These design goals are directly in response to the classic huge gauge clusters, tiny windows, and old tech found in most mass-produced general aviation aircraft.Ī key to Icon’s success so far is its 50+ service partners, flight training network with 58 instructors, and 160+ strong owners group. An aircraft that is easy to fly, super safe, versatile, and offers expansive visibility are all hallmarks of the Icon A5. The whole concept behind the company and plane is to bring a fun, youthful attitude to general aviation, which is currently a declining space. The lineup you’ll typically see at your local airport (photo/Bryon Dorr) Icon A5 buyers range from 23 to 81 years old, with 25% of them being new pilots and 30% owning other planes as well. The final steps before delivery, completion, inspection, test flight, and receiving a certificate of airworthiness, happen at Icon’s Vacaville, Calif., headquarters. In the past 6 years, it has produced 190 aircraft at its 300,000-square-foot plant in Tijuana, Mexico. Icon Aircraft has been working on the A5 Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) since 2008, with production starting in 2017.
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