Recreational Plane with Automotive Styling Expected to Attract New
Pilots to Aviation
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--
ICON Aircraft, a start-up Light Sport Aircraft manufacturer,
publicly unveiled the ICON A5 consumer sport plane yesterday on the
opening day of AirVenture 2008, the world's largest aviation event
taking place in Oshkosh, Wis. The two-seat sport plane is amphibious
with retractable landing gear that allows for takeoffs and landings on
both land and water. The ICON A5 has already drawn significant
interest due to its consumer-friendly design, highlighted by folding
wings that allow the plane to be easily stored or towed on the road
with a trailer.
"In the last 50 years, aviation has gotten away from what the
early aviation pioneers loved about flying - the freedom, fun and
adventure," said ICON Aircraft Founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins. "ICON is
about bringing that sport and passion back to flying through a vehicle
that delivers that experience in a way no other vehicle can."
The ICON A5 features a high-strength, lightweight carbon fiber
airframe and is powered by a reliable, 100-hp Rotax 912 ULS engine
that runs on both auto and aviation gasoline at an estimated top speed
of 120 mph with fuel efficiency up to 20 mpg. Besides folding wings,
more unique features specific to the ICON A5 include an intuitive,
sports car-like cockpit with an MP3 music port, and Seawings platform
for easy access and docking on water.
"We need to bring new people of all ages into aviation with
products that appeal to people today," said Tom Poberezny, president
of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), the organizers of
AirVenture. "ICON has done that with the A5."
The unveiling featured the full-scale test prototype that
completed its first flight on July 9 under the direction of ICON's
engineering team and flown by experienced test pilot Jon Karkow. The
aircraft was built by former top engineers at Scaled Composites, a
leading producer of specialty aircraft like the Voyager, GlobalFlyer,
and X-PRIZE winning SpaceShipOne.
"AirVenture is the perfect place to publicly launch the ICON A5
sport plane," Hawkins added. "There are hundreds of thousands of
enthusiasts here, so if you are going to launch a new consumer
aircraft, this is the place to do it."
The ICON A5 is designed to be predictable and easy to fly with
safety features such as a propeller guard, angle of attack indicator,
and quick-deploying ICON Complete Airplane Parachute (ICAP) so
consumers can fly with peace of mind.
The standard ICON A5 model is amphibious with retractable landing
gear and folding wings. The estimated price of the ICON A5 standard
model is $139,000 and orders are now being accepted at
www.iconaircraft.com with a fully refundable $5,000 deposit. Aircraft
production and initial deliveries are scheduled to begin in late 2010.
About ICON Aircraft:
ICON Aircraft is a consumer sport plane manufacturer founded by
Kirk Hawkins, an engineer and former U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter
pilot. Hawkins started the company during Stanford University Business
School in 2005 after learning of the Federal Aviation Administration's
major regulatory changes that created the Light Sport Aircraft market
in 2004. A venture-backed, early stage company out of Silicon Valley,
ICON Aircraft quickly moved its operations to Southern California,
which is a hotbed for aerospace engineering, automotive design, and
powersports activities. More Information: http://www.iconaircraft.com
About FAA Light Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot Classifications:
In 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration created a new
classification of easy-to-fly and affordable two-person planes called
Light Sport Aircraft that enable a new classification of sport pilots
to fly. The Sport Pilot License focuses on the fundamentals of flying
and requires a minimum of 20 hours of in-flight training, which is
half the time and cost of a traditional private pilot's license. The
Experimental Aircraft Association described the new rules as "the
biggest change in aviation in 50 years."
ICON Aircraft
Steve Pegram, 424-201-3506
steve@iconaircraft.com
or
Leader Enterprises
Jennie Bragalone, 562-546-6004
jbragalone@leaderenterprises.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
