US light sport aircraft (LSA) manufacturer Icon has begun transferring the manufacture of the A5 amphibian from its current base in Tehachapi, California to a new facility, 550km away in Vacaville, Solano County. A handful of aircraft will roll-off the production line later this year, and Icon plans to reach full-scale production by early 2018.
The 10-year-old company handed over the first version of two-seat LSA in July at the AirVenture show in Oshkosh, and is gearing up to deliver the second from the Tehachapi site shortly. The following units will then be delivered from the new 13,000m² (140,000ft²) facility, which will also replace Los Angeles as the company's operational headquarters.
So far Icon has received around 1,500 orders for its 100hp Rotax 912iS-powered A5 and plans to deliver up to 40 aircraft by the middle of next year, ramping up to 100 over the next 18 months, and 600 aircraft after 30 months.
The $190,000 A5 was launched in 2006 and made its first flight two years later. In 2012 the company petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) asking for a 115kg (250lb) increase in the composite aircraft's maximum take-off weight – to 685kg – to incorporate airframe and wing changes and the A5's added safety features, such as a ballistic recovery parachute and angle-of-attack indicator. The FAA granted approval in 2013.
The A5 has a maximum speed of 105kt (195km/h) and a range of 300nm (555km).
Source: Flight International
