Icon amphibian makes first flight

The Icon A5, a light sport amphibian, has completed its first flight at an undisclosed lake in California.

The prototype model flew on July 9 but wasn’t reported by the company until July 15. Because it operated off of water, it did not have the landing gear installed yet.

The A5’s airframe is constructed of carbon fiber and it is powered by a 100-horsepower Rotax 912S that can operate on either auto gas or avgas. It will come with an emergency airframe parachute. The airplane also has folding wings for easy storage and trailering.

The $139,000 aircraft now begins a year of flight testing followed by the construction of a pre-production model to be used for light sport aircraft certification. Production is expected to begin in late 2010.