The Icon A-5

The Icon A-5 is a small airplane, but it is also a boat. How does this float and fly? How much is it? Is this a potential plane for me?

The Icon A-5 is a boat-and-plane, or a seaplane, that can take off and land on water. Although there are many different seaplanes in the wide world of aviation, this one in particular stands out for its low price, boat-like capabilities, and maneuverability.

The A-5 features a propeller on the back of the cockpit. This type of propeller mounting is called a push engine, although many aircraft feature one on the front of the airplane, a pull mount.

How it flies:

It is an airplane, so the air moving over the wing creates low pressure on top and high pressure on the bottom. This creates lift, and it can fly.  To take off and land on water, it is quite simple. The landing gear folds up into the body of the aircraft, then the pilot descends to the water as if it were a runway with the gear up and then levels off, reducing lift and speed, then the pilot pulls up and glides into the water. When taking off from the water, the pilot throttles up and pulls up to put the plane on top of the water so it can have more aerodynamic tendencies, allowing the plane to speed up, increasing lift.

Pros:

One of the many pros is that Icon describes it as “Chances are, if we asked you to name a sports car or a sport bike, you could do it. But what about a sports plane? The ICON A5 is meant not for commercial or commuter flight, but rather to enjoy the sheer adventure of flying. It turns flying from a mode of transportation to a sport, what flying was meant to be. New for 2024, the A5 now includes a 4-blade propeller and a higher gross weight, so you can add more to your adventures.”

Another pro of the A-5 is its maneuverability; to fly this plane, you only need a sport pilot certificate. The A-5 can also pull tight turns and climbs, making it feel like flying a fighter jet. This is due to its small fuselage on the tail section, but having large control surfaces.

But what pilots like most about the A-5 is its surprisingly low price, which can run up to $450,000 for a fully equipped version. The A-5 also comes with four color options:  Electric Blue, Electric Green, Strata Gray, and Astra Red. The A-5 also comes with a removable Garmin Aera 796 GPS.

The last big pro of the A-5 is its foldable wings. Instead of paying your monthly paycheck for a hangar, the A-5’s wings fold back for pilots to trailer back to their home.

So if you want a flying and floating sports vehicle, this is the one for you. Although it may be fun to fly, safety is just as important. The A-5 comes with a spin-resistant parachute system made to protect you from whatever may come, like spins, stalls, and malfunctions in the airplane.

Cons:

Although some of the cons of the A-5 are that it is a two-seater with little space for storage, it is more of a plane of adventure and not long-haul cross-country flights.

Another con of the A-5 is that it can be different to fly than many trainer sea and land planes, for example, a Cessna 172 or a Cubcrafter seaplane. Although Icon does provide classes on how to fly the A-5, some pilots might prefer the option of a hassle-free switch. Although it is maneuverable, and once you get the hang of it, easy to fly, flying magazine quotes, “Icon had initially planned an electrically actuated reaction system for the wing, but it proved too heavy and complex to pull off.

In the end, you might be asking yourself, “This seems complex, is it the right choice for me?” The Icon A-5 is extremely fun, and it really depends on your needs if you want something that will take you from state to state or county to county; it is not the right choice. If you are looking to fool around with family and friends by the lake or ocean, exploring and buzzing past your friends’ houses, the A-5 is for you. It is an all-around fun machine that will create memories that will last forever. not just a boring flight with checklists and tiny corrections. It flies like a fighter jet, as described by the Flight Training Center. If you think this could be you, head on over to www.iconaircraft.com for more info on this beast of a machine. 

Have fun, fly safe!

Works cited: www.iconaircraft.com

                        www.flyingmag.com