As
a result, the initial production A5 will have a max
gross takeoff weight of 1510 lbs, an 80-pound increase
over the standard 1430-pound amphibious LSA maximum. “We
had to make some tough engineering decisions in order to
keep the program moving forward given the FAA delay,”
said ICON VP of Engineering, Matthew Gionta. “But in the
end, we got to a great place and are on the verge of
delivering one of the safest, most user-friendly Light
Sport Aircraft possible today.”
In
a speech titled “A New Look at Certification” delivered
October 11, 2012, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta
mapped out the FAA’s vision for the future of aircraft
certification where regulations encourage innovation by
being less prescriptive and where complexity and
performance are used as aircraft criteria instead of
weight and propulsion. “We applaud the FAA Administrator
and his team for demonstrating truly outstanding thought
leadership,” said Hawkins. “This kind of progressive
thinking unleashes innovation within aviation that will
have a profoundly positive impact on increasing safety
while simultaneously promoting a strong, growing
industry for our economy.”
ICON Aircraft is a consumer sport plane manufacturer
founded in response to the new sport flying category
created by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
in 2004. ICON’s first plane is the A5, an amphibious
sport aircraft that fuses outstanding aeronautical
engineering with world-class product design. It has
won some of the world’s most prestigious design
awards and has inspired a global following. The
company has received more than 940 order deposits
and has started manufacturing components of the
first production aircraft. ICON Aircraft’s
facilities are in Southern California, a hotbed for
automotive design and aerospace engineering.
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