Icon Opens Florida Flight Center

Anyone who wants to fly the Icon LSA now can take instruction in Tampa, Florida, the company announced last week. The new flight center is open at the Peter O. Knight Airport, a general aviation field. The training program is offered not just to A5 position holders but to anyone who wants to sign up. Options range from a 90-minute introductory flight to a full sport-pilot training program, which the company says will take 15 days. "We studied a range of high-performance schools, like car and motorcycle racing courses, before developing the Icon training program," says CEO Kirk Hawkins.

"We optimized our approach based on how people learn, so they can most effectively absorb critical information and learn the fundamentals of flying. In addition to emphasizing basic airmanship, we also focus on developing good judgment and decision-making, self-reliance, and encouraging Icon pilots to be responsible members of the flying community."

The flight center is the second one for Icon, which also offers training from its headquarters in Vacaville, in northern California. A third facility is scheduled to open in Texas early next year. The company said it has already trained 40 new pilots at its California location. AVweb's Rick Durden took a look at the A5 in Vacaville last summer and filed a video report.