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July 30, 2014

ICON Aircraft Constructs And Flies First Production A5

ESN-1 Was Built From The Production Design, Tooling

After years of waiting... and doubting... ICON Aircraft has unveiled what it says is the first production A5, an aircraft the company refers to as Engineering Serial Number 1 (ESN-1). This is reportedly the first A5 built from the production design, with production tooling, and using production methods and components. ESN-1 was built over a five-month period, from January to June of 2014, and successfully completed its first flight on 7 July 2014 in Tehachapi, CA. This aircraft is one of three that will be used to verify performance and complete FAA approval prior to the start of customer deliveries in May of 2015.

The Perlan Project Announces Their Partnership With Airbus Group To Finance The Project To Finish

The Perlan project is a non-for-profit research company studying atmospheric conditions utilizing a sailplane designed to fly at extremely high altitudes. They have joined with the Airbus group on financing and technical support. The objective is to continue the research that was started by Steve Fossett and his crew, who set a previous world record of 51,000 feet, by exploring the very upper level weather patterns at 90,000 feet above the surface of the earth.

When We Use The Term “Sport Plane” Or “Light Sport Aircraft,” Does That Equate To Limited Usability?

Some aircraft are specifically intended for transportation and travel. A good example of this would be a corporate jet or even a high-performance single-engine airplane. Other aircraft seem to have found their niche in what we call sport or recreational flying, but to lump all these aircraft into the term “sport plane” is a bit limiting.