I'm happy to say that in the first quarter of 2009 ICON continued to see a series of exciting successes--despite the challenging economic environment and uncertainty around us. Flight test recently completed high-performance water testing, sales passed position #400, and we continue to see unprecedented levels of market and media enthusiasm for sport flying overall and ICON in particular. Our recent customer survey results confirmed what we've suspected since our launch--there is indeed a huge, untapped market of non-pilots who are excited to join the aviation community if inspired by the right companies and products.
The A5 has been undergoing an extensive test flight regimen. While designing an "average aircraft" can be challenging enough, delivering a truly great aircraft requires an enormous amount of work. We recently completed a series of rigorous hydrostatic and hydrodynamic tests. These tests were designed to assess the basic hull performance for typical seaplane operations, as well as expand the envelope into higher winds and rougher sea states. Additionally, given that the A5 is designed to be a pure sport seaplane, it was engineered to handle more aggressive maneuvering on the water in order to make your experience safe while being extremely exciting.
With the combined efforts of some of the world's top marine architects working side by side with ICON's engineering team, the A5 may, in fact, have one of the most sophisticated seaplane hulls ever designed. Ironically, getting the hull performance of a seaplane dialed in is one of the harder tasks. So far, the A5 hull has far exceeded our expectations and is a star performer.
The details: The seawings on each side of the fuselage provide outstanding stability both hydrostatically and hydrodynamically. The seawings also provide robust, buoyant platforms for the users to move in and around the aircraft while on land or in the water. They also function like the swim platform on the back of a ski boat facilitating easy docking as well as easy access in and out of the water.
The hull's forebody design achieves effortless "on-step" acceleration with little to no deck-angle change throughout transition from displacement to plowing to planing modes. There is minimal porpoising tendency. In fact, the A5 will smoothly and quickly accelerate onto the step to takeoff speed in a stick-free condition requiring little to no pilot input until rotation speed. The forebody's higher deadrise allows the A5 to handle relatively rough water on takeoff and landing for such a small amphibian.
During step-turns (the first photo), the seawings allow the aircraft to bank significantly more than outrigger-type sponson floats that you see on typical hull-type seaplanes. This allows the A5 to make more coordinated, tighter turns on the water. The seawings are designed to engage the water and keep the wingtip from touching throughout the normal maneuvering envelope. However, the A5 also has planing wingtips that not only provide additional hydrostatic stability in extreme crosswind conditions, but are effective hydrodynamic planing surfaces should a wingtip contact the water in extreme or inadvertent conditions (the second photo).
The image below is an unusual sight--an aircraft in flight with its wingtip in the water. It was taken while testing the planing wingtip performance in extreme or "out of the envelope" situations. While the A5 is certainly not intended to be flown with the wingtip in the water, and is only being done here by a professional test pilot, the test successfully demonstrated the wingtips' effectiveness and increased safety margins should such conditions ever be inadvertently encountered.
Going forward there are a number of areas still being meticulously refined on the A5, including gear installation, aerodynamic refinement and drag reduction of the hull, water-rudder improvements, and spray-pattern optimization. Stay tuned.
Our recent customer survey confirmed what was determined by extensive market research conducted at Stanford University back in 2005: there is a significant amount of "pent-up" demand among non-pilots for those who want to learn to fly just for the fun of it. ICON is seeing newcomers come to aviation at unprecedented levels. 51% of A5 customers have never purchased any aircraft before. Even more impressive is the fact that 35% of ICON customers are not yet pilots at all, and 80% of those indicated that ICON was the primary reason they were making the commitment to now become a pilot. We also see this data anecdotally supported by emails we routinely receive like the one below:
"I just wanted to let you know that ICON has completely changed my life. Several months ago I watched a story about your amazing aircraft on the Fox News Channel. I was immediately struck by its sleek appearance and seemingly ease to fly, not to mention the fact that a water or land take-off and landing was extremely appealing..... Stop.....did I say I had never even sat in the cockpit of an aircraft before! I began research on the Light Sport Category of aircraft and found the A5 to be the most ergonomic, visually appealing and functional type in the category; as a result of being so into the A5 I began learning to fly! As of today 3/28/09 I am the proud owner of 12 hours of flight time and growing!" – Don Fullilove (Actor, Hollywood, CA)
ICON is also seeing its customer base fill with the ranks of very experienced pilots in addition to new pilots. Of the 65% of ICON customers who are currently pilots, the average flight time is 3700 hours, more than half have instrument ratings, and many are professional pilots, aerobatic pilots, and even former fighter pilots.
ICON continues to receive an incredible amount of media coverage--and what's most impressive is that the vast majority is completely organic. This interest, while certainly compelled by the popularity of the ICON A5, is also another strong indication by the marketplace of the latent demand for pure sport flying.
Among the highlights, ICON was featured in February live on Fox News in several segments that aired throughout the day. ICON also recently appeared on Yahoo’s home page and in a special segment on the Discovery Channel.
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For those of you coming to the EAA Oshkosh Air Show this year, stop by our booth and check us out. We're confident you’ll like what you see. We're looking forward to sharing the progress since last year. The show runs from July 27 – August 2. If you plan on attending, please let us know so we can include you in ICON events that we are planning.
Two months ago I sent out an email describing my first flight in the A5. In case you missed it you can read it here. Here's the bottom line: if you're looking for an exciting, adventurous airplane, you’re going to absolutely love the A5! While I knew a lot about the A5 going into my first flight, actually flying it far exceeded my expectations. I've flown many aircraft in my career including everything from fighter jets to ultralights, but the A5 may just be the most fun aircraft I've ever flown.
We feel fortunate that despite the current economic climate, when nearly all aircraft and recreational vehicle categories have seen a dramatic fall-off in demand, ICON continues to take orders for A5's at a surprising rate. In February, while the Dow fell 1000 points, we took 14 orders and we recently passed delivery position #400. Deposits are $5000, refundable, transferable, and fully escrowed. For more information, contact sales@iconaircraft.com or call 424-201-3505.
Despite ICON’s success, these are trying times for the economy, financial markets, as well as the aviation and powersports industries. As such, know that ICON remains laser-focused on engineering, flight testing, and product development, while allocating resources only as required to ensure that the coolest sport plane the world has seen makes it into our customers’ hands as quickly and safely as practical. Hope to see you in July in Oshkosh!
Best,
Kirk
KIRK HAWKINS / CEO
ICON AIRCRAFT
12511 Beatrice Street
Los Angeles, CA 90066
www.iconaircraft.com