Story Highlights
Intuitive amphibious ICON A5 resembling a sports car
You will need a sport pilot license to fly.
Tampa, Florida
CNN
—
I have no experience at all when it comes to flying an airplane.
Actually, I've never even thought about trying it.
Nonetheless, I enthusiastically took over the controls of the ICON A5 as we swooped over Tampa Bay, Florida on a gorgeous November morning. The ICON A5 is a two-seat amphibious aircraft that looks like a sports car, handles like a jet ski, and is incredibly intuitive. The company says even beginners can learn how to fly in less than 30 hours.
At 23 feet long and weighing 1,510 pounds, the aircraft is known as a light sport aircraft for maritime use.
You won't find a product on the market designed to help you focus on the freedom of flying without worrying if your airplane reacts unpredictably.
My whole body tenses up for five minutes because now I'm in control. Am I really ready to pilot this shiny new machine on my own? I'm not entirely sure.
But I take comfort in the fact that the A5 was built specifically for people like me, and designed to be driven like a car.
Plus, it doesn't hurt that Icon CEO and founder Kirk Hawkins is next to me in the cockpit. He can take over control at any time.
So far so good.
We glided gently at about 1,000 feet and were comfortable enough to take in the scenery. The lovely Fort De Soto Park does not disappoint.
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Rolling waves of dreamy white sand dunes are surrounded by water that looks like it should be in the Caribbean.
Equally impressive is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, a series of long cables.
The adrenaline is still pumping. And as most surreal experiences go, it gets better and better.
First off, to my left is another ICON A5 that is thrilling in its own right. We are flying in formation, and my job is to mimic that movement. You might think this would be intimidating, but it's not.
It's just fun.
That's music to Hawkins' ears. He is the brains behind this new airplane, an idea that has been brewing for 10 years.
A former Air Force F-16 pilot and Stanford Graduate School of Business graduate, he has focused most of his adult life on bringing sport flying to the public.
“Our idea was to create an airplane that would allow the average human being to go out and experience the world without the burden of being a professional pilot,” he says.
So it makes sense that the dashboard resembles what you see in a car. There are some gauges that I don't recognize.
“That’s Apple’s approach to things,” he says. “You humanize it and make it intuitive, easy, and cool.”
He was so confident that people would want to fly his planes that he opened a flight training facility at Peter O. Knight Airport.
Located on Davis Island, five minutes from downtown Tampa, this is a place rich in beauty and sailboats.
The company's other training center is located in Vacaville, California, where ICON is headquartered.
Wide eyes and open windows
At 9am it's time for a brief water landing pitstop.
Hawkins assumes control. I was so busy learning formation flying (not something non-pilots can often attempt) and interviewing Hawkins that I didn't even think about learning water landings on my own. Hawkins said most people can master it in about 30 minutes.
After a few minus Gs and 360-degree turns, you'll be on your way to a fun roller coaster ride in the sky. Plus, since it's an outdoor flight, you sometimes have to spread your arms. Because I can.
From a few hundred feet above the water, it's easy to spot boaters waving at us, flocks of pelicans, and even schools of stingrays.
“We’ll park here, stop for a moment, and then head out,” he says.
Of course you're kidding, right? But after the plane landed on the water, he took off his seatbelt and I realized he didn't.
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After a few seconds, he opens the roof and we climb onto the wing, which could easily be used as a diving board. Suddenly it felt more like sunbathing on a boat than on a plane.
Everything is drenched in an enchanting golden hue. I can imagine having a picnic on a nearby beach. Or you could just hop on a plane and go somewhere for a remote weekend camping trip.
The plane has a range of about 430 miles when fully loaded, making it ideal for short flights.
“This is all about inspiring people,” he explains. “Once you learn how to fly, you will never be the same. You will look at the sky differently, and you will see the planets differently.”
“The basic motor skills needed to fly an airplane are pretty easy,” Hawkins says. “Some people land on their own with an instructor within 30 minutes on the first day.”
That said, they spent a lot of time designing for safety. The goal of the anti-spin airframe feature is to prevent the airplane from losing control if the pilot makes a mistake.
There is a full airplane parachute as a backup.
“The roll resistance capability is very important because this is the first airplane that the FAA has deemed roll resistant,” says Chris Dupin, flight instructor and U.S. Air Force officer. “A significant number of general aviation fatalities result from loss-of-control accidents involving spins that are not recovered from base to final spin.”
Additionally, there is an angle of attack indicator that is not normally found on light aircraft. It shows where the wings are happy (green) or where they can rest (red).
The pilot's job is to keep the wing within the green or yellow portion of the gauge. This is one of the things that makes water takeoff and landing so easy to learn.
“Kirk Hawkins has some very creative and innovative ideas for making pilot training more intuitive. Teaching the feel of flying first and the principles and mechanics later is no different from how people learn to drive,” says Christine Negroni, veteran aviation journalist and author of “The Crash Detectives.”
“The world is facing a pilot shortage, so the idea of training differently to accommodate different learning styles can significantly expand the pool of pilot candidates.”
For your information, about 40% of people who make deposits for ICON A5 are not pilots. This means that this plane is attracting aviation novices.
After an hour and a half of flight time, Hawkins lands us on the airport runway. This is a move you can perform after you've mastered several water landings. It's a little trickier because it requires more precision and knowledge of crosswinds.
At this point, if I owned this airplane, I would hook it up to the trailer, fold up the wings, drive it home, and park it in the garage.
If you want your own ICON A5, get in line. More than 1,800 customers have placed deposits.
For those who aren't ready to shell out $207,000 for one, there is the option to stop by the ICON training facility in Tampa or the facility in Vacaville, California, and fly for a day.
An introductory sport flying class costs $595 for 1.5 hours. Obtaining a sport pilot's license requires a commitment of 20 hours or more, and prices vary.