Cirrus to build Icon A5 Airframe

gprellwitz

gprellwitz

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Jun 19, 2005
Messages
12,799
Location
Romeoville, IL
Display Name
Grant Prellwitz
Home Airfield
1C5
According to an article in Flying Magazine online, Cirrus Aircraft is going to produce the composite fuselage for the Icon A5 amphibious plane. I think that's an interesting way to help ensure a quality build right out of the gate. But what happens if/when the Chinese opt to move Cirrus production to China?
 
Yawn.

Exactly what airframe is Cirrus going to build? The last I heard, Icon's design had grown to 1620 lbs gross, 200 lbs over the permissible light sport specification. And that they had applied for an FAA exemption, arguing that the design is stall-proof, thusly justifying the increased weigh. I'd not want to bet my job, tooling or deposit on that horse.

Meanwhile I've been flying my CTSW for 5 years.
 
Last edited:
Old Geek said:
Yawn.

Exactly what airframe is Cirrus going to build? The last I heard, Icon's design had grown to 1620 lbs gross, 200 lbs over the permissible light sport specification. And that they had applied for an FAA exemption, arguing that the design is stall-proof, thusly justifying the increased weigh. I'd not want to bet my job, tooling or deposit on that horse.

Meanwhile I've been flying my CTSW for 5 years.
Click to expand...
Congratulations, but off of water?

And where did you hear that they are at 1620 gross? I haven't heard that anywhere.
 
gprellwitz said:
Congratulations, but off of water?

And where did you hear that they are at 1620 gross? I haven't heard that anywhere.
Click to expand...

I don't want to get my airplane muddy.

Here you go, and this article says 250 lbs on top of 1350. I had also heard they wanted 200 lbs on top of 1420 (the light sport max for float planes). Not sure which is right because I couldn't find the full text of the exemption request. I'd like to read it if you can find it.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/ICON_Weight_Exemption_206991-1.html
 
How exciting! I bet Cirrus really puts some fire in the Icon. :rolleyes:

Its a neat airplane.
 
I had a saying as a Chief Engineer. "Airplanes and Engineers tend to get fatter as they get older. It is our job the minimize the growth of both but primarily the airplane since we sell them."

Cheers
 
gprellwitz said:
Thanks! I hadn't seen that, and my Google-fu was weak!
Click to expand...

No wonder you didn't see it. ICON intentionally kept quiet about it, and in fact they almost succeeded of slipping it under the carpet. Notice how the comment period actually closed before Independent Acft applied for re-opening of the comments. There was not a word at the ICON website, and Dan Johnson never posted a word about it either. My next question is, what else are they hiding?

By the way, vindictive leadership of ICON blacklisted AvWeb and denied them permission to film a video of A5 at Oshkosh, which they did every year prior. How low can you stoop?

This is how you create the bad blood. I was so much taken by the concept. A5 was going to make more to build LSA market than anyone, because everyone else did business by cannibalizing GA, and that pie was shrinking fast. ICON was goning to step outside of the narrow, crusty circle of GA graybeards who are about to lose their medicals and die. But now I am starting to ask myself if the whole thing was a sham from the start.
 
Last edited:
zaitcev said:
No wonder you didn't see it. ICON intentionally kept quiet about it, and in fact they almost succeeded of slipping it under the carpet. Notice how the comment period actually closed before Independent Acft applied for re-opening of the comments. There was not a word at the ICON website, and Dan Johnson never posted a word about it either. My next question is, what else are they hiding?
Click to expand...

Icon is very secretive. Where does an LSA airplane company get the kind of money that they do ? Their budget is enormous. It seems only fitting that Cirrus makes their airframe as I guarantee over time the Icon will very much suffer from the "Cirrus Effect".
 
> Where does an LSA airplane company get the kind of money that they do ?


I remember Vern being an investor. For me, that was a huge red flag. I was also quite skeptical of an LSA with a (complex/heavy) folding wing mechanism.
 
zaitcev said:
No wonder you didn't see it. ICON intentionally kept quiet about it, and in fact they almost succeeded of slipping it under the carpet. Notice how the comment period actually closed before Independent Acft applied for re-opening of the comments. There was not a word at the ICON website, and Dan Johnson never posted a word about it either. My next question is, what else are they hiding?

By the way, vindictive leadership of ICON blacklisted AvWeb and denied them permission to film a video of A5 at Oshkosh, which they did every year prior. How low can you stoop?
Click to expand...

About a month ago I posted a somewhat skeptical message about the A5 on another board. Before I hit "Submit", I reread and reedited the message several times, with the feeling that this could be a company that might resort to legal measures to squelch criticism.
 
I have trouble understanding how they've stayed in business without delivering a product. I first saw then at OSH in 2007. Here we are in 2012, still nothing you can buy just lots of slick marketing.
 
Old Geek said:
About a month ago I posted a somewhat skeptical message about the A5 on another board. Before I hit "Submit", I reread and reedited the message several times, with the feeling that this could be a company that might resort to legal measures to squelch criticism.
Click to expand...

Aww c'mon. It's not ANN. ;)
 
Three years from now the engineering department and major portions of Cirrus production will be on the China mainland... The reason will be given that it is for 'quality control'...
Green airframes will be shipped here for final fitting out and delivery to the customer to maintain the fiction that it is an American aircraft...

The Chinese are smart (like we used to be)
The are ambitious (like we used to be)
And they are capitalists (like we used to be)

Becoming a third world banana republic is hard on the ego and the pocketbook...
Get used to it bucky
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top