ICON Aircraft, a privately held startup based in Los Angeles, hopes to turn aviation into a power sport, like Jet Ski and motorcycle riding. On June 12, it unveiled the A5, a $139,000 plane
What's That in the Sky?
The A5's design is part sports car, part Jet Ski, and part airplane. The futuristic aircraft's folding wings tuck neatly under a slim rear tail so it can be towed behind a car. For an airplane, the A5 is small, about as long as two compact cars parked bumper to bumper, with a wingspan of 34 feet.
Cockpit Lite
Designers drastically simplified the cockpit experience most people know from images of commercial airplanes. A simple rack of gauges lines the cockpit's center console.
Good Old Gauges
Instead of supplying all the plane's gear on one digital screen-a common feature in private planes-the designers decided to stick with analog gauges to emphasize the plane's sense of reliability and to include a design motif familiar from autos.
“Amphibi-dextrous”
The A5 can take off from any standard runway and reach a height of 10,000 feet. The plane will also be available in an amphibious configuration, enabling it to take off from and land on the water.
My Plane Is in the Garage
ICON envisions making these light aircraft as common as Jet Skis. The plane can be washed with a hose and stored in a garage.
Flier-Friendly Rules
A new certification created by the FAA four years ago will make it easier for potential owners to learn to fly. The new Sport Pilot License requires just 20 hours of flight training and costs between $3,000 and $4,500-about half the time and cost of the previous easiest-to-obtain license.
Will It Fly?
The downturn in the economy has dampened discretionary spending, creating greater competition for consumers' leisure dollars. The A5 will be pitched as a luxury product at a time when consumers are cutting back. And steadily rising fuel prices aren't likely to help either. (The A5's engine, which burns either jet fuel or regular gasoline, gets about 18 miles to the gallon and has a range of about 300 miles.)
