Icon A5... your thoughts and opinions?

Jim Stewart · Post by **Jim Stewart** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 10:06 am

I don't think the maintenance costs are a factor. My A&P IA charges $60 an hour. My Subaru mechanic charges $90. I dropped $700 on the Subaru two years ago just to fix an air conditioning freon leak. Which BTW was never found. Initial cost, hanger and insurance are the major costs for me.

NCPilot · Post by **NCPilot** » Sat Apr 09, 2011 11:25 am

I was just throwing out ideas on how to cut cost so that we can have more people in General aviation. I do believe that Sport Pilot and Sport Aviation is a step in the right direction, but I also believe we can do more to bring down of not only purchasing an aircraft , but also operating cost.

zaitcev · Post by **zaitcev** » Sat May 28, 2011 12:11 pm

Dan Johnson sits in an exhibition mock-up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuTaXIB4pbI

spooky981 · Post by **spooky981** » Tue May 31, 2011 7:27 pm

I'm not embarrassed to say that I took my discovery flight after I saw the Icon A5 featured on a tech blog I frequent.

drseti · Post by **drseti** » Tue May 31, 2011 7:46 pm

Jim Stewart wrote:My A&P IA charges $60 an hour. My Subaru mechanic charges $90.

My shop rate is $65/hr, Jim. I have to charge that much, so I can pay my plumber (who charges twice as much).

After all, everybody knows how much extra safety training that profession requires, so nobody drowns in the toilet (not to mention liability insurance for when someone does)...

Jim Stewart · Post by **Jim Stewart** » Tue May 31, 2011 11:08 pm

I wasn't complaining, only making the point that an LSA isn't significantly more expensive to maintain than a car.

drseti · Post by **drseti** » Tue May 31, 2011 11:17 pm

Didn't think you were complaining, Jim - but I was (about my plumber's rates). Also, just trying to inject a bit of levity into the conversation. Actually, your IA's rates seem most reasonable.

SportCubJim · Post by **SportCubJim** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:26 pm

What was the original topic?

I somehow followed a wrong turn and ended up here.

zaitcev · Post by **zaitcev** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:54 am

Did you guys see the pics of the new cuffed wings on the A5? Crazy stuff. Also, no more flaps. I do expect the maximum speed suffer as a result; not that it matters considering the mission.

Jim Stewart · Post by **Jim Stewart** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 3:53 pm

I think designing a completely new, unconventional (no flaps) wing means there might be some serious issues with the design.

Paul Hamilton · Post by **Paul Hamilton** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:27 pm

Flaps are weight, cost, more parts, something more to fail.
Never underestimate the ability for improved wing design. I think most LSA are still in the WW2 era?
Before I make a judgment/opinion, I personally want to see how it flies.

RyanShort1 · Post by **RyanShort1** » Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:18 pm

I still want to fly one when it comes out...

Ryan

zaitcev · Post by **zaitcev** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:23 am

Most canards have flapless wings (until you go big like Viggen and Grippen). Velocity is one. So that's understandable. The question is, why did they bother with cuffs in the first place. The naive answer is that they judged the aileron authority impaired in the stall, and they thought so despite the stall video that they published previously, which clearly showed the old wing stalling from the root out. Was the video a careful "spin" (please pardone the pun)? Or was it true and the new wing is a needless obsession? A possibility exists that flying and most importantly maneuvering in the ground effect is different, and this airplane is supposed to maneuver close to surface, not just take off and land. The stall video was taken at altitude.

Jim Stewart · Post by **Jim Stewart** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 10:26 am

Good info.

This brings up another question. If you stall a land aircraft 3-4 feet above the runway, usually the worst that will happen is a bounce and severe embarrassment. What happens on a seaplane?

drseti · Post by **drseti** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 11:56 am

Jim Stewart wrote: What happens on a seaplane?

A splash and severe embarrassment, I imagine.