Icon Aircraft unveiled a new four-blade propeller for its A5 amphibious light sport aircraft (LSA) this week at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The company is also offering a new color option—Astra Red—as part of its Signature Livery design, bringing the number of such A5 designs to seven.
The new composite propeller weighs eight pounds less than the original three-blade composite propeller and has blades with a narrower chord but the same diameter. Icon is offering the new propeller as an option on new A5s and as a retrofit for the existing fleet, both priced at under $5,000. Benefits of the four-blade propeller include improved takeoff distance by 10-12 percent, less vibration, and quieter operation.
FAA Part 23 certification of the A5 is nearing completion, with approval expected by the end of the year, according to Icon CEO Jerry Meyer. The only difference between the LSA A5 and the certified version will be the engine; the certified airplane will be equipped with the certified version of the A5’s Rotax 912 engine. Noise testing is complete, and that was one of the final steps in the certification process.
Once type certification is completed, deliveries to international customers will commence. Six type-certified A5s have already been earmarked for delivery later this year, and Icon expects 25 to 30 percent of sales will be outside the U.S. after certification is in hand.
Production of A5s is averaging four aircraft per month, but Meyer hopes to boost that to five by the end of the year. “We don’t want to outpace demand,” he said, but growth is expected as Icon validates the international market and strengthens its U.S. market.
While final assembly and completion is done at Icon’s Vacaville, California headquarters, the company has shifted more work to its composites factory in Tijuana, Mexico. Instead of shipping subassemblies to Vacaville, now the Tijuana team does the bonding of large components, much of the paint work, and installations of landing gear and engines. At Vacaville, the wings, parachute, and some systems components are installed and tested before the production flight test is completed.
New tooling, including a giant bonding tool, is speeding up the manufacturing process, but Icon continues to examine better ways to schedule work such as the multiple cure cycles required for large components. But overall, the manufacturing process is “much more efficient,” Meyer said. “Now with the same number of people, we can make more airplanes.”
For buyers who don’t want to wait to get their LSA A5, Icon is offering a $30,000 discount on the $439,500 price, good for eight aircraft that are available in September and October. These include the new four-blade propeller, Astra Red livery, Garmin GFC 500 autopilot at no extra cost, G3X avionics, and a one-year subscription to SiriusXM Weather.