The last remaining tools and equipment are being installed at Icon Aircraft’s composite production facility in Mexico, and the company says the factory is scheduled to be fully completed in April, with the first set of parts sent to the Vacaville, California, assembly line in June. The carbon fiber parts for the Icon A5 were originally to have been built by Cirrus Design in North Dakota, but Icon has since decided to manufacture all the key airframe parts internally.
The Icon A5, seen by many as a potential savior of sport aviation, has been plagued by production delays, on which AVweb has reported in the past. The company was founded over a decade ago, and the first Icon A5 prototype took flight shortly thereafter in 2008. Although the company reports 19 aircraft have been produced, Icon told customers that these aircraft would all go to Icon training centers, while the company worked out kinks in the manufacturing process. The company says it expects to accelerate production in September, producing 30 airframes in the last quarter of 2017. With as many as 1,850 customers reported to be in line to purchase the amphibious light sport, buyers who have not already placed deposits should expect to wait well into the next decade before Icon hands over the keys.
Photo: Icon Aircraft
