Saturday, August 7, 2010

ICON Aircraft -The Sport Flying Revolution




A revolution is occuring in aviation. The development is a collaboration between an F-16 pilot and a banker turned skateboard designer. The team at GP enjoys a healthy dose of vehicular obsession, be it by land, sea or air. This will be the first time the public will be able to experience the A5 amphibian model in person, and even more importantly – place their own orders in person. The ICON is a 2 seat, sport amphibious light sport aircraft that will carry two passengers up to 300 nautical miles at 120 mph powered by its 100 horsepower Rotax 912 ULS engine. The A5 will make aviation more accessible and affordable than ever before – not to mention an absolute blast. A Sport Pilot license (the category of license required to fly the A5) requires just 20 hours of in-flight training. Even more interesting is the fact that the ICON A5 has a folding wing setup allowing you to trailer the aircraft. The A5 will take off and land in either water or tarmac with its retractable landing gear. Inside you’ll be encompassed in it’s sports-car like cockpit complete with GPS, stereo, high visibility wrap-around canopy, and LCD multifunction display. The ICON A5 is no dangerous luxury toy, the A5 also has a complete airplane parachute in addition to an arsenal of safety features. The company has announced that customer deliveries are expected to begin in the third quarter of 2011, with an estimated base price of $139,000.