30 July 2013
The FAA has granted Icon Aircraft a weight increase of up to 250lb for the A5 light-sport amphibian.
Icon CEO Kirk Hawkins announced the news at an AirVenture conference, explaining that the company can now increase the A5’s max takeoff weight to 1,510lb and put the LSA on a fast track toward production.
Icon asked the FAA for an MTOW increase above strict LSA standards to incorporate airframe and wing changes that the California company says comply with Part 23 spin resistance standards.
In a July 24 document granting the weight increase, the FAA said it had ‘determined that the Icon A5 provides an equivalent level of safety, and may in fact exceed the level of safety provided by aircraft that meet LSA standards.
‘The FAA has determined that granting relief from the MTOW for LSA for this specific safety enhancement is in the public interest and is also consistent with the FAA’s goal of increasing safety for small airplanes.’
The FAA also noted that it hadn’t considered the weight of SRA technology compliant with 14 CFR Part 23 spin-resistance standards in establishing the MTOW for LSA.
Though the company requested a 250lb weight increase, Hawkins said the company will need only 80lb of that, making the A5’s new MTOW only slightly higher than the current 1,430lb LSA limit for amphibians.
“This news is good not just for us, but all of GA,” said ICON founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins. “We spent a lot of time and energy trying to crack the code on building a spin-resistance aircraft, and that accomplishment took additional weight.”
With the exemption, Hawkins has now confirmed that production will begin. The first four prototypes for certification are expected to be completed in spring of 2014, with deliveries planned for the third quarter of 2014. According to Icon, the company already has more than 900 refundable deposits of $5,000 each. The full price of the A5 is expected to be $189,000, a considerable rise on the original estimate of $139,000.
To celebrate its production progress, ICON is reducing the deposit for a production position from $5,000 to $2,000 during AirVenture, whether placed at the show or online.
<a href=’http://www.iconaircraft.com’ target=’_blank’>www.iconaircraft.com</a>
