ICON’s Lightweight A5 Amphibeous Airplane
June 13th, 2008 by BallerRide
Yesterday, Los Angeles based startup ICON unveiled its plans to produce an easy-to-operate lightweight amphibious airplane that will cost about as much as a top-of-the-line Mercedes. Dubbed the A5, ICON’s amphibious airplane concept has been designed to take off and land on water as well as dry land and travel up to 140 mph at altitudes of less than 10,000 feet.
With all the controls located on one digital screen, the ICON requires less experience to fly than a traditional aircraft. About 20 hours of flight training will qualify you for the new Sport Pilot License required to operate the A5, which costs between $3,000 and $4,500 total to obtain. Just in case 20 hours of training doesn’t make you comfortable in the pilot’s seath, the A5 will feature a built-in parachute just like Cirrus’ The-Jet.
Transporting the aircraft will simply require folding up the A5’s wings and trailering it behind a car. Expect the A5 to hit the market in 2010 with a price tag of $139,000.
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