12:12 am - Friday
A-5 aircraft by ICON: two major design enhancements
Los Angeles, Usa - To improve flight safety
(WAPA) - ICON Aircraft, an early-stage, Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) manufacturer, has announced two major design enhancements to improve flight safety and the user-experience of the ICON A-5 aircraft. ICON has eliminated wing flaps to simplify pilot operations. ICON has also committed to a spin-resistant design, which will include, among other things, the addition of wing cuffs. Both improvements are designed to simplify aircraft complexity and increase safety—which is especially important for new pilots.
While general aviation is inherently quite safe, when accidents do occur, it is the stall/spin scenarios that are responsible for 13.7% of all fatal accidents, according the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Of these accidents, it is slow-speed maneuvering prior to landing that is the most common accident scenario. Making the A-5 spin resistant will help ensure that the pilot maintains control of the aircraft at all times, even if the airplane is inadvertently stalled.
Removal of the flaps is the other improvement to the A-5. Flaps are typically used to reduce an aircraft’s stall speed for landing. However, Light Sport Aircraft regulations already require that Light Sport Aircraft stall no faster than 45 knots without the use of flaps. Given this FAA requirement combined with the LSA maximum speed restriction, ICON eliminated the A-5 flaps since they offer marginal benefit for their increased complexity.
ICON Aircraft has committed itself to fielding an aircraft that offers high performance for experienced pilots, while also being safe and very accessible for novice pilots. These two design improvements confirm the company’s commitment to that philosophy. Over one third of ICON’s current orders come from individuals who are not yet pilots. (Avionews)
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Direttore Clara Moschini