ICON A5 Amphibious Light Sport Aircraft – “The Sports Plane of the Future”

The company ICON was founded in 2005 right after the FAA’s dramatic regulation changes in 2004. Kirk Hawkins the founder of ICON wanted to create personal sport aircrafts that were small enough to tow behind a pickup, store in a common garage, and not cost a fortune. Their A5 design fit’s that bill perfectly.

The A5 is the easiest, low-cost, easy-to-store aircraft in production today. It is completely sea-worthy and being only a two-seater it is lighter than a compact car. It has retractable landing gear that can be completely removed to create a pure seaplane. The Seawing platforms make for easy access and easy docking. It is completely amphibious, allowing the owner to access a perfect runway in nearly any large body of water. The folding wings make transporting this adult toy as easy as towing a wave runner. And with a 100 HP engine it can be refueled at any marina with common unleaded gas.

This puppy is also fully loaded with GPS, MP3 in-flight music port, and a glass LCD multifunction display. It has a high-visibility wrap-around canopy window that not only gives the A5 a sleek look but also allows for some awesome sight seeing. The canopy window does have removable side panels that enable you to feel the wind in your face, but if you would rather not, it does come complete with an AC and a heater.

The price tag is $139,000 and is expected to be delivered in late 2010. The A5 took its first flight in July of 2008 and did great, the production is completely on track. Deposits are being taken and orders are being placed, ICON states they may have to broaden their production figures in the early years to keep up with all the orders currently being placed. For more information see www.iconaircraft.com