At last year's show, Icon Aircraft debuted its concept for a two-seat amphibian sport plane that was meant to attract new pilots to general aviation. On Monday, the first flying copy of the aircraft arrived at Oshkosh, and company CEO Kirk Hawkins said he has over 400 orders for the Icon, and one-third of those will go to new pilots. The airplane will make several showcase flights this week at EAA AirVenture. "It's already been through a lot of vigorous, meticulous flight testing and has been performing exceedingly well," said Hawkins, who flew it himself for the first time a few months ago. "It's fun, safe, and easy to fly. It's all about getting you out there interacting with your world." Recreational aviation is an important tool for bringing new pilots into GA, he said. "We think people want to fly, and they need to be inspired. LSA is the best way to bring new people in." He said the airplane has more flight testing to do but will be ready to start deliveries about midway through 2011.
The aircraft features folding wings to make it easy to tow on a trailer or store in a garage, and the interior is designed with a "sports-car" feel. Jon Karkow, lead engineer and test pilot for the company, spent over 20 years at Scaled Composites and worked on the SpaceShipTwo project. The estimated market price for the Icon is $139,000.
Email this article
At last year's show, Icon Aircraft debuted its concept for a two-seat amphibian sport plane that was meant to attract new pilots to general aviation. On Monday, the first flying copy of the aircraft arrived at Oshkosh, and company CEO Kirk Hawkins said he has over 400 orders for the Icon, and one-third of those will go to new pilots. The airplane will make several showcase flights this week at EAA AirVenture. "It's already been through a lot of vigorous, meticulous flight testing and has been performing exceedingly well," said Hawkins, who flew it himself for the first time a few months ago. "It's fun, safe, and easy to fly. It's all about getting you out there interacting with your world." Recreational aviation is an important tool for bringing new pilots into GA, he said. "We think people want to fly, and they need to be inspired. LSA is the best way to bring new people in." He said the airplane has more flight testing to do but will be ready to start deliveries about midway through 2011.
