28 April 2014
Icon Aircraft has provided an update on the A5 amphibious LSA programme.
The FAA granted Icon Aircraft a weight increase of up to 250lb for the A5 light-sport amphibian in July 2013.
The manufacturer has recently announced that the first production version of the A5, Engineering Serial Number 1 (ESN1), is currently being built at ICON’s facility in Tehachapi, California. It is the first of several aeroplanes that will support the FAA compliance audit for LSA airworthiness.
ESN1 is the first aircraft from ICON to be manufactured using production tooling and is on target for completion later this year.
In the third quarter of 2013, ICON’s suppliers began manufacturing the hundreds of aluminum, steel, and carbon-fibre molds Cirrus Aircraft is using to build the composite airframe components of the production A5. At the same time, other suppliers began construction of the assembly fixtures with which ICON is building the aircraft. To date, all airframe components and assembly fixtures have been received at ICON’s facility.
According to the company, the build is currently focused on ESN1’s structural composites, and ICON’s technicians have begun bonding all major components of the airframe, including tail, fuselage, wings, control surfaces, and canopy. As the structure of ESN1 comes together, the team will transition its focus to systems integration, which includes the installation of electrical, propulsion, landing gear, interior, and parachute systems.
There’s no news yet when the aircraft will be ready for introduction to the market.
A statement from the company explained, “Years of design and preparation have gone into creating the A5, and the ICON team is thrilled to see the first production aircraft coming together in physical form.” <a href=’http://www.iconaircraft.com ‘ target=’_blank’>www.iconaircraft.com </a>
