Disruptive Innovation in Aviation: The ICON A5 Car-Boat-Plane

This past week at ICON Aircraft's exhibit at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin, CEO and Founder Kirk Hawkins handed the keys of the first customer A5 Amphibian aircraft to EAA Young Eagles Chairman and aerobatic pilot Sean Tucker, who accepted the aircraft on behalf of the organization.

The aircraft will participate in Young Eagles flights that allow children to experience aviation, often for the first time, to give them exposure to and inspire their interest in flying.

The A5 is ICON’s first plane, an amphibious sport aircraft that combines 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 1250 order deposits and has manufactured the first production aircraft. ICON Aircraft's facilities are in Southern California, a hotbed for automotive design and aerospace engineering.

Kirk Hawkins, former U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot, while studying for his Masters in engineering at Stanford met fellow student Steen Strand. Steen was also a seasoned sports-product entrepreneur. Kirk mentions that he started to develop the idea of the A5 when he was a teenager and shared this with Steen. Timing was right as a result of dramatic Federal Aviation Administration regulatory changes that caused a new category of consumer, recreationally focused personal aircraft allowing many more people to learn to fly and enjoy flying, and the creation of a new entry-level FAA pilot certification for sport pilots.

Kirk studied the long-term implications of these regulatory changes while at Stanford GSB without any commitment to start a company — only as a contextual, academic learning exercise. That analysis suggested timing was right for this new airplane to be designed and taken to the skies.

The A5 is a high-wing flying boat-type amphibious monoplane with a carbon fiber airframe and retractable undercarriage. It seats two people in an enclosed cockpit and is powered by a single 100 hp (75 kW) Rotax 912 iS engine driving a three-bladed pusher propeller. Dornier-style sponsons provide hydrodynamic stability, housing the retracted main landing gear, and act as a step for crew and passenger. The wings can be folded aft for ground transport and to also allow you to park it in your garage Equipment includes an angle of attack indicator, an unusual feature in general aviation aircraft. An airframe ballistic parachute is optional.

If you live on a lake this is a great toy to have. You can park it in the garage and then drive it into the water and take-off. It has a retractable gear and can land on normal paved runways too. Base price for the aircraft is $189,000. This model carries two people, we could be seeing a 4 or 6 people version in the future. This is a cool #innovation in the light aircraft space and definitely on my shopping list...

Fabrizio Poli is an Aviation Analyst & Managing Partner of Boutique Aviation Company Tyrus Wings. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured in the Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Wealth X,, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube.

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