Icon A5: Delivering the Goods

A SEAPLANE PILOTS ASSOCIATION PUBLICATION • NO. 210 • $3.95 JULY/AUGUST 2015

ICON A5: DELIVERING THE GOODS

REMEMBERING THE MARINER

PHILLY SPB CENTENNIAL irk Hawkins, the founder and CEO of ICON KAircraft and its most passionate employee, said at AirVenture 2014 that if ICON did not come next year prepared to deliver an A5 to a customer, they might as well not show up. He was acknowledging the fatigue of an aviation community that, following the A5's introduction at a splashy AirVenture press conference back in 2008, had become intrigued by the drop-dead ICON A5 Rewriting the Rules

By Mark Twombly

Photos provided by ICON Aircraft gorgeous appearance and innovative an early age, began thinking about what as engineering, and the final product features of the amphibious Light Sport would become ICON Aircraft and reflects the dual priorities. Aircraft (LSA) flying boat design, but in the A5 while a student at the Stanford “Design is a core value of the compa- the seven years since has grown impa- Business School. At the time the Sport ny,” said Klaus Tritschler, ICON’s vice tient over the seemingly interminable Pilot and Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) president of design. (With the A5 pro- process of settling on the final design and initiatives were fresh concepts, and gram transitioning from development to configuration and getting the aircraft Hawkins was intrigued. He came to production, Strand has left the company certified and delivered to the 1250-plus believe that the new, less-stringent LSA to pursue other entrepreneurial proj- true believers who have plunked down self-certification rules for manufactur- ects.) “Design serves the experience, the deposits for $300 million worth of A5s. ers and, more important, the 20-hour total user experience,” he added. In fact, That seven-year itch finally is being training requirement for Sport Pilot cer- in certain instances ICON traded an scratched. In June ICON successful- tification, offered the long-dreamed-of emphasis on aerodynamics for design. ly passed an FAA compliance audit promise of opening up recreational fly- “It is important that there is an emo- that enabled it to issue an airworthi- ing to an entirely new, $3.6 billion-large tional aspect to the airplane,” Tritschler ness certificate to the first customer air- audience of potential customers. explained. plane. Hawkins and ICON will be at Hawkins teamed up with fellow Without question the A5 is an attrac- AirVenture 2015 to deliver ASN-1— Stanford classmate Steen Strand to tive aircraft from almost any angle. Aircraft Serial Number 1—and possibly found ICON and begin development of Hawkins said the design objective a second. They’ll also be taking current the A5. They hired Scaled Composites was for the A5 to be “badass.” Which deposit-holders for flights in an A5 to engineers Jon Karkow and Matthew means…what? “You can’t define it,” firm up their resolve, and no doubt tak- Gionta, and began work on a proto- Hawkins answers. “You just know it ing deposits from many more eager new type. when you see it. It’s emotionally engag- customers. Strand’s influence on the project is ing and inspiring.” Those deposits—the majority of significant. A Harvard grad with a mas- The A5’s very cool design aesthetics which have been placed by non-pilots ter’s in product design from Stanford, gets your head turning in its direction, or inactive certificated pilots, according Strand is a “serial entrepreneur focused but once you fly it you come to appreci- to ICON—are all the more remark- on consumer product design,” accord- ate the airplane’s numerous safety fea- able because until very recently no one ICON’s design objective was ing to ICON. Design has been as much tures even more. Hawkins, who flew outside the company had flown the for the A5 to look “badass.” of a focus in the development of the A5 F-16s in the Air Force followed by a airplane. That changed recently when ICON began to develop its flight training curriculum, and invited some expe- A5 is powered by Rotax 100-hp 912. Director of Flight Training Jeremy Brun (left), lead engineer rienced hull-seaplane flight instructors John Karkow (middle), and ICON founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins. to sample the airplane and possibly join its training team. One of those invi- tees was Steve Robinson, an SPA Field Director who owns a Lake amphib- ian that he uses for instruction at his Grand Seaplanes flight school in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. “I wasn’t sure what to expect,” Robinson told me, “but in fact I was impressed—and it takes a lot to impress me.” He cited the A5’s stability on the water, takeoff performance, and aggres- sive maneuvering capability as making it something of a “Lake on steroids. I get excited just talking about it,” he said. flight training will take place on Lake response, safety-of-flight features, and In mid-June ICON invited five Berryessa. in-air flying qualities. Add to that list aviation publications, including Water The short version of my impressions ICON’s innovative vision to lower the Flying magazine, to an extensive tech- of the A5 briefing and flights—two imposingly high, moss-covered wall that nical briefing on the A5 followed by hours of extensive water work, a run- discourages potential newcomers from a day of flying. The flying took place way landing and takeoff, and edge- getting involved in general aviation, and on Lake Berryessa west of Vacaville, of-the-envelope flight maneuvers—is you have a company and an airplane California. ICON is converting two that Robinson underplayed his reaction. that are rewriting all the old rules. 140,000-square-foot warehouses at Nut In fact, it is an immensely impressive Tree Airport in Vacaville to A5 assem- airplane in almost every regard: aes- THE VISION bly facilities and company headquarters. thetics for sure, but also build quality, Hawkins, who says he has been enam- The water portion of ICON’s customer cockpit layout, water handling, control ored with flying and motorsports from

18 Water Flying July/August 2015 July/August 2015 Water Flying 19 stint in the airlines, was the airplane 45 KIAS stuff happened—the stall guy in the initial partnership. He rec- warning horn began to buzz and the ognized from the outset that if a sig- airframe buffet. But airspeed stabilized nificant number of customers would at 45 and the airplane held altitude. In be drawn to the fun factor but arrive fact, with no change in configuration without any pilot training or experience, or power over the next minute or so, it AOA the A5 would have to be as idiot-proof gained a bit of altitude. (my words) as possible. How? Minimize With stick still aft, the airframe still he FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have the potential for the pilot to create a bucking, and the stall warning still com- officially endorsed the use of Angle of Attack (AOA) indica- stall-spin scenario. ICON’s answer is an plaining, Hawkins made a series of T tors in general aviation aircraft. More than a quarter of all GA Angle of Attack (AOA) indicator and coordinated turns to the right and left. accidents occur in the maneuvering phase, according to the FAA, and spin-resistant wing. We continued to fly and hold altitude. half of those involve a stall/spin scenario. An AOA indicator “may help Then he did the unthinkable by apply- prevent loss of control in small aircraft because it provides a more SAFETY FIRST ing right rudder and opposite aileron, reliable indication of airflow over the wing” than an airspeed indicator The AOA is the most prominent gauge followed by left rudder and opposite and stall warning device, the FAA says. in the pyramid-shaped instrument clus- aileron—classic base-to-final cross-con- The NTSB also says an AOA indicator can help reduce loss-of- ter, positioned just below the pilot’s trol inputs leading to spin entry. It was control accidents—one of the targets on its Most Wanted List of straight-ahead line of sight. It has an disconcerting and uncomfortable to say Transportation Safety Improvements for 2015. “Airplane owners airfoil-shaped pointer, a green normal the least, but the shuddering airplane should consider installing an AOA indicator, which, coupled with pilot zone, a yellow caution zone, and a red remained controllable and at altitude. understanding and training on how to best use it, can enhance situ- line representing stall angle of attack. Next up was an accelerated stall, ational awareness during critical or high-workload phases of flight,” The dashed white line in the middle or at least an attempt at one. Banking the NTSB says. of the green zone represents max lift sharply to the left, he pulled steadily on To speed their acceptance, the FAA in 2014 simplified AOA design over drag, which is about 58 KIAS. the stick until the airframe began buffet- approval requirements for manufacturers. In June 2015 the FAA and This is the AOA indication you want AOA gauge (top) shows wing angle of ing. At this point the down wing should general aviation groups launched a “Fly Safe” national safety cam- to maintain on climb, maneuvering attack relative to critical (stall) angle have stalled, causing the airplane to roll paign that, among other recommendations, calls for the installation around the pattern, and in the event of of attack. Optional Beringer brakes sharply to the left and the nose to plum- and use of AOA indicators. an engine-out glide. It can also be used (bottom) are effective. met, but nothing like that happened. We “An airplane can stall at ANY speed,” the FAA stated in announc- as a cruise reference for achieving maxi- continued to fly under control. ing the Fly Safe campaign. “An AOA indicator can help avoid a stall mum range. the outboard section of the airfoil, func- Hawkins gave me the controls to because speed alone is not reliable. For a given configuration, the The solid yellow line above it is the tion to keep the outboard portion of each try the same maneuvers, with the same airplane always stalls at the same angle of attack (the critical angle optimum deck angle to maintain when wing flying when the inboard section results. It was a remarkable demonstra- of attack). Without an AOA indicator, AOA is ‘invisible’ to pilots. touching down. has stalled. tion of the effectiveness of the spin- “An AOA indicator can help when used in conjunction with airspeed Aerodynamic stalls are more of an This was dramatically demonstrated resistant design, and convincing evi- and existing stall warning systems, when available. It can be used to academic concept than a certainty in the by Hawkins in the “high-alpha demo” dence that the A5 should indeed achieve get the pilot’s attention (via audio and/or low-cost stick shakers) even A5, thanks to the spin-resistant design portion of my second flight of the day. Hawkins’s goal of avoiding the poor if the pilot is not looking at it. This focuses the pilot’s attention on of the wing. A pronounced cuff on the We climbed to 1,000 feet AGL, pushed stall-spin record that plagues some other where it needs to be to avoid the stall.” leading edge of the outboard section of the throttle forward and pulled the stick LSA designs. each wing, combined with washout in aft. When airspeed bled down to about The nasty stuff over with, he had me

ICON is designing a custom trailer Landing gear alert system shows to transport the A5, which has profile of A5 with selected gear A5 main gear extends from sea wings; springy nose gear absorbs bumps as A5 manually folding wings. position. climbs ramp.

20 Water Flying July/August 2015 July/August 2015 Water Flying 21 reduce power to idle while still holding form for preflighting the engine and for full aft stick. The nose dropped, and I pilot and passenger to step into and out adjusted pitch to keep the AOA indi- of the airplane. cator in the middle, over the dashed white A lot of work went into determin- max L/D line. We descended benignly at ing the correct shape of the sea wings to 700-800 fpm under full control until add- minimize drag from the water and the ing power just a few hundred feet over air, Karkow says. They are constructed a narrow section of the lake framed by using foam core and carbon fiber skins, brown hills. Time to explore a particular and the leading edges can be replaced if safety feature of the AOA. damaged by a too-close encounter with Sports car-like cockpit features The objective was to make a 360-degree an immovable object. semi-reclined seats, cupholders, turn inside the hills, which looked to be The A5 comes standard with a 100- and elegantly shaped sticks. AOA about 400 to 500 feet apart. From wings hp carbureted Rotax 912 engine; the gauge sits at top of round-dial level crank the A5 over steeply and pull fuel-injected 912 iS is optional. Hawkins instrument cluster. until the pointer rises into the yellow said the 115-hp 914 turbo was still too region. Moderate the bank angle as need- new and unproven when they had to ed to keep the pointer away from the red decide on an engine. Fuel capacity is 20 line. The resulting bank angle was steep gallons, which provides about five hours and the turn—two 360s, in fact—tight. endurance for the miserly Rotax. So tight that Hawkins estimates the turn The cockpit is perhaps the prime fea- radius at 200 feet. We had room to spare ture of the A5 that shows how design inside the canyon. influenced function. It is inviting the The exercise convincingly demon- same way an exotic sports car entices you strates the value of the AOA over the to slip into the slightly reclined, form- airspeed indicator when maneuvering fitting seats and cast an admiring look aggressively. An accelerated stall can around your immediate environment. occur at any airspeed so in a tight turn, The deliberate comparison to a contem- such as you’d want to do to escape an porary luxury sports automobile extends inadvertent entry into a blind canyon to the unusual—for an airplane—round- or when circling to identify a possible dial instrument cluster. No flat panel obstruction in a lake landing zone, you filled with electronic screens on the A5. don’t know for certain how close you are Another indication of the thought to stalling. But keep the AOA indicator that went into ICON’s approach to in the yellow and you can be confident functional design: When the switch for you have adequate margin from a stall the electrically actuated landing gear to complete the maneuver safely. is in the Down position, a red-colored The other final-solution safety feature graphic of the A5 in profile shows the on the A5 is the BRS ballistic parachute. gear extended for a land landing; when When all else fails pull the handle to fire the switch is Up the now blue-colored the chute pack, and drift down to a walk- graphic shows the A5 profile with gear away conclusion to the emergency. up for a water landing. It’s an amazingly simple and effective approach to instant, THE WALK-AROUND easily comprehended confirmation of The A5 has a relatively deep-vee hull, landing-gear position. chines to deflect spray, and two small The rudder pedals are adjustable fore fins to deflect debris from the nose gear and aft; the seats are not. A glove box has doors. ICON used an Aventura as a USB and power outlets, each sea wing has mule to test various hull designs, finally a storage pocket accessible from the cock- settling on a version of one penned by pit, and 60 pounds of bags can be stowed the naval architect for Nautica Boats. behind the seats. The forward-hinged The prominent sea wings are a canopy has a removable window on each throwback to big Sikorskys, Dorniers, side, and flying without the side windows and other regal flying boats from the adds to the overall “user experience.” Golden Age of aviation. They provide My first flight was with Jeremy Brun, Large cuff on out- Sea wings provide both hydrostatic and hydrodynamic sta- a former military pilot who serves as board wing panel stability when the bility, according to lead engineer Jon ICON’s director of flight training. With blocks spanwise A5 is at rest and Karkow, and eliminate the need for a payload of 350 pounds and 10 gallons flow of air when underway. Leading fragile sponsons hanging from the outer of gas, we were about 20 pounds shy of inner section of edges are replace- able if damaged. wings. They also are a convenient plat- the 1510-pound maximum gross weight, wing is stalled.

22 Water Flying July/August 2015 July/August 2015 Water Flying 23 which is 80 pounds higher than the very tight turns for confined water take- was my first—the springy nose gear strut when crossing our own wake, was quickly standard 1430-pound max for an LSA offs or other on-the-water maneuvering. makes for a soft touchdown—and on dampened with a slight stick adjustment. seaplane. ICON petitioned the FAA for On the first takeoff I was surprised to Brun’s recommendation I applied heavy It climbed a steep ramp with ease, and a 250-pound increase in gross weight, see how little stick input was required. braking to sample the Beringer brakes. those Beringer brakes made for a slow, to 1680 pounds, to accommodate all In fact, on the later flight with Hawkins Impressive! Differential braking is used confident taxi down the ramp to the water. of the safety features in the airplane. he demonstrated a totally hands-off to steer the A5 on land, and after making The only maneuver we did not However, after waiting for some time takeoff. It was easy to find the sweet a 180-degree turn I lined up and tried a accomplish was sailing—not enough for a determination from the FAA, the spot on the step using almost impercep- short-field takeoff. As a land plane the A5 wind that day. company concluded it could not hold tible adjustments in stick position, and was easy to control and very comfortable The A5 is not equipped with a VSI, up development any longer and picked we eased off the water at about 45 knots. to fly. an essential instrument for making a 1510 pounds as a max gross weight from Climb out at about 60 KIAS or, better Returning to Lake Berryessa, we safe glassy water landing. However, the which they could retreat back to 1430 if yet, position the AOA needle over the pulled the power back to idle at alti- optional Garmin 796 in the pedestal the exemption was denied. dashed-white max L/D line. We lev- tude and set up a max L/D glide to the does have an electronic GPS-based VSI, The FAA did eventually grant the eled briefly at about 2,500 feet MSL to water. Unlike most high-drag seaplanes which is what we used. full 250-pound exemption, but too late top the hills to the west en route to the that require an immediate pitch-down The glassy water technique used for for ICON to use all of it. No doubt single hard-surface runway at nearby response to a loss of power to maintain most seaplanes is somewhat different a follow-on model with more power Angwin-Parrett Field. flying speed and a margin for flare, los- in the A5 because AOA rather than is being planned to take advantage of Like almost every other airplane capa- ing power in the A5 was a non-event. airspeed is a primary reference. Before the additional 170 pounds remaining to ble of operating off the water, the A5 is We had plenty of time to fine-tune pitch passing your last visual reference, set reach the full 1680-pound gross weight. not particularly fast in the air. With 100 attitude to position the AOA over max power at between 3800-4000 rpm and We pushed off the beach, fired up the hp it’s certainly not overpowered, and L/D, determine wind direction, line up pitch to achieve the on-angle yellow Rotax, and taxied out toward the middle ICON freely says it traded an emphasis for final, and arrest the descent for a line reading on the AOA and a 100-fpm of the lake. First up was some step on speed for design aesthetics. Max con- smooth touchdown on the water. descent on the electronic VSI. taxiing, and that’s when I saw a funda- tinuos airspeed is listed as 95 knots. The rest of the flight with Brun, and It worked fine, especially with Brun mental difference in handling compared A mild 90-degree crosswind prevailed the later flight with Hawkins, includ- calling out the descent rate. He ac- with other seaplanes. Brun suggested for landing on 2O3’s 3,200-foot-long, ed a lot of water work—flap, no-flap, knowledged that some might take issue I “dive” into left and right step turns 50-foot-wide runway. I was high on final, and simulated glassy water landings; with using a GPS-based VSI, but said using the ailerons, and control the rate and set up a slip to lose altitude.The con- more step taxiing and turning; ramping; experience has shown it to be “quite with the rudder. The ability to bank into trols are light and the airplane responds beaching; and even an attempt at sailing. sensitive and quite accurate.” My only a step turn—the sea wings prevent over- quickly and positively to control inputs. The A5 behaved beautifully at all concern was with the relatively small banking—means the A5 can perform The landing was easy, especially since it times. Any tendency to porpoise, such as size of the VSI display. For a pilot who

No sponsons means the A5 can “dive” into step turns and even pivot to a stop on the water.

24 Water Flying July/August 2015 July/August 2015 Water Flying 25 ICON A5 SPECIFICATIONS

•Seats: Two •Maximum Takeoff Weight: 1510 lbs (686.4 kg) •Useful Load: 430-550 lbs (195-249 kg) •Baggage: 60 lbs (27.2 kg) •Fuel: 91 Octane Auto Gas or 100LL Aviation Gas •Maximum Speed (Vh): 95 KCAS (109 mph) (176 kph) •Range: 427 nm (45 min reserve) •Takeoff Distance (Runway on Standard Day/Sea Level): 710 feet •Landing Distance (Runway on Standard Day/Sea Level): 530 feet •Takeoff Distance (Water on Standard Day/Sea Level): 920 feet •Landing Distance (Water on Standard Day/Sea Level): 840 feet •Engine: Rotax 912 (100 hp)

Dimensions •Interior Cockpit Width: 46 in (116.8 cm) •Wingspan: 34.8 ft (10.61 m) •Aircraft Length: 23 ft (7.01 m) •Aircraft Height: 8.1 ft (2.47 m) Referencing the AOA puts the A5 in proper nose-up attitude Available Safety Features for smooth water touchdown. •ICON Spin-Resistant Airframe (SRA) •ICON Angle of Attack Indicator (AoA) •ICON Complete Airplane Parachute attempts a glassy water landing only • Passing the Sport Pilot written exam says it will break even delivering 300 air- •Planing Wingtips occasionally, the size and positioning of • Passing the FAA check ride craft a year. “The goal is to hit the break- •Predictable Flying Characteristics the VSI might prove a challenge. • Getting a CFI SES endorsement even point in 2016,” Hawkins said. •Low Stall Speed On the other hand, the AOA proved Sport Pilot training will begin with The journey to first delivery has not itself once again. Using the on-angle four pre-solo flights from the water. been easy. Investors have pumped an yellow reference puts the airplane in “We will use water ops to teach landing estimated $100 million into ICON. That a slightly nose-up attitude, perfect for skills—the sight picture, changes in atti- is a breathtaking amount to develop an is priced at $247,000 (in today’s dollars). touching down on the step. tude, height, and so on,” Brun explained. LSA, but Hawkins believes the potential For a little perspective, some Carbon “Students learn much quicker and more market is about $3.6 billion. Plus, there’s Cub customers are spending that on A5 FLIGHT TRAINING efficiently that way.” a follow-on model planned, and it’s their float-equipped airplanes. Every customer who takes delivery of likely that ICON’s future will include Order an A5 today and you can an A5 will have some sort of company- BUILDING THE A5 non-aircraft projects. You don’t need expect to take delivery in about three administered checkout, ranging from The first few A5s are being built in 280,000 square feet of space to assemble years, although it may be possible to get some ground school and a couple of Tehachapi, California, where develop- an LSA. one earlier. Position holders up to 450 hours of flying for a proficient sea- ment has taken place. After AirVenture can sell their spot in line, no doubt for a plane pilot to a full Sport Pilot certifica- the company will begin moving to Nut SO YOU WANT ONE tidy sum. Some who hold 450 and later tion course for a non-pilot. Given that Tree Airport in Vacaville, where A5s Who doesn’t? The current base price is will drop out for various reasons, and somewhere between 30 to 40 percent of will be assembled from components $197,000, but plan on spending more. ICON will offer those positions, prob- deposit holders from the U.S. are non- supplied by Cirrus and other vendors. If yours will have an N-number, the ably at a premium price. pilots and another third are inactive ICON plans to deliver 60 new A5s by FAA requires ICON to install the oth- ICON says on its website that its pilots, ICON will be doing a lot of flight AirVenture 2016, and 560 by AirVenture erwise optional $15,000 BRS parachute goal is to “democratize aviation the training. 2017. Production capacity is designed for system. And then there’s the optional same way that great brands like Apple, Brun has logged 200 hours in the 37 airplanes a month, and the company $35,000 Founder’s Edition Package, BMW, Ducati, or Oakley democratize A5 prototype over the last year testing which includes the Rotax 912iS engine their products: by fusing outstanding training profiles. The result is a training (the carbureted 912 is standard), pedes- engineering with world-class consumer curriculum designed “from the ground tal-mounted Garmin 796 GPS, night- product design. The end goal is to cre- up” that calls for a 14-day Sport Pilot lighting package, electronic attitude ate products that not only deliver great certification course to include: indicator, Beringer wheels and brakes, functional benefit but also deeply inspire • Sending course work to students three right-side controls, carbon-fiber prop us on an emotional level.” months before they arrive and spinner, electric water rudder, Those are some fancy words, but it is • 22 flights for 25-30 hours removable side windows, cabin heater, quite likely customers will happily con- • 60 water landings minimum and “various aesthetic upgrades.” clude that the A5 is indeed worthy. ■ • 60 land landings minimum An A5 with all the options, which • 5 CFI stage checks add about 120 pounds to empty weight, Mark Twombly is editor of Water Flying.

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