f13.net

I searched and didn't see this....pretty cool.

http://www.iconaircraft.com/

Sure, it still costs as much as a house... but looks pretty damn sexy to me. Fold up wings FTW.


"What type of engine does it have?

The ICON A5 is equipped with the proven and reliable Rotax powerplant, the most common engine in the Light Sport Aircraft category. The Rotax 912 ULS is a very fuel efficient, 4-cycle, 100-hp, liquid-cooled powerplant capable of up to 25-mpg fuel efficiency.

What type of fuel does it take?

The aircraft takes both automotive and aviation gasoline, so it can be fueled at an automobile service station while on the trailer, at home with a gas can, at a boat marina, and at an airport. This results in significant cost savings as automotive gasoline is generally more affordable and burns cleaner than leaded aviation fuel."

Where can it land?

The ICON A5 is amphibious so it can land and takeoff on both water and on land with its retractable landing gear. "

I don't understand that term "sport flying", even after reading the vague blurb on the website. When I see the term "sport" I think "competition" as in time trials or acrobatics (aka barnstorming).

Maybe like a sports car? Those could be used for competition. This plane....not so much.

I believe it's a classification of both aircraft and license. From the site it seems there are weight and ceiling limitations for "sport" planes. I think it's more sport as in recreation as opposed to competition.

So call it "recreational flying". Fuckers.

Does it come with a plane parachute (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6749412/)?

http://www.iconaircraft.com/exp-safety.html

Yes.

I wonder why some of the commercial aircraft haven't gotten something like this yet either on the plane or helio parachute.

So it is a new upgrade from ultra light aircraft?  Looks sweet.

Ferrari priced, and you can legally cruise up to your lake house at 100 MPH. I foresee more than a few drunk rich fuckers crashing these on their way out to Cape Cod.

Thanks Slayerick. I think I just came in my shorts reading that website.

Also, I think there's an additional restriction to 'sports flying' regarding the weather you're allowed to fly in.

Beautiful plane, but I have a weakness for all sorts of "flying boat" designs.

It looks to me like sport pilot is the moped/under-50cc scooter version of flying. Very simple planes, clear weather, daylight only, and no airspace requiring radio which cuts out everything but small rural airports. But for $4k training it's very tempting to grab a quick license so you could drive out to the country and do a few hours rental on a nice weekend.

It also seems to have legitimized companies selling slightly larger than ultralight planes direct instead of the fiction of selling the kits and shipping it directly to a company that does nothing but assemble the kits. That's definitely a big price change, with a few minutes I was able to find a couple of years old (but admittedly far less sexy) "sport" class plane for $46k.

I always wanted one of these (http://www.paratoys.com/).

Thats pretty affordable. I was thinking of getting back into sky diving again as a civilian now that I cant do it with the military anymore. But this looks like way more fun and not much more expensive.

Yeah, that's a really good analogy. It's a really fucking horrible idea air safety-wise. The people getting this license are people who want to get a pilot's license without actually bothering to learn how to be a pilot. It's for rich people who want to get out to their lake house fast, but can't be fucking bothered spending more than a week to learn how to not crash into shit if it starts raining while they're up in the air, or they miscalculated their flying time and are going to be flying into dusk.

Which bears a remarkable resemblance to my opinions about people who ride small scooters without doing rider training and getting a license.

What really strikes me is that it's not all that much cheaper than getting a standard PPL. The two week sport bootcamp is about $4500 and a two week PPL bootcamp is about $6500. If the $2k is that much of a difference, not sure how you're going to afford the rental hours anyway. The one real difference that does strike me is not needing a medical certificate, but I'm not sure what washes you out of a PPL.

Am I the only one who has problems with a seaplane on this "sport" license? If it wasn't hard enough and require training to fly a plane, seaplane operations are quite different and require a special endorsement (at least in Canada).

A diana 2 (http://www.dianasailplanes.com/pricing.html) is a bit cheaper option, but a lot crazier in the rignt hands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55PrYJUEK0A