Wow that’s awesome man airracl is an amazing guy and your icon a5 content is awesome!!! I want to fly the daher tbm910 the icon I very nice to fly but gets a little shaky here and there it’s a little water plane what can you say
what you need is 4-5 friends who also love flying, and you pool your money together and co-share the aircraft. if you do that, this thing is beyond affordable, and it can be kept in a trailer so no hanger fees.
@@GaryJamesKnight I was aware (which is cool!). Since MOSAIC removes the weight restriction in lieu of a 54 knot clean stall speed, will there be another MTOW increase?
Video confirms that the Icon is impractical for normal docking. A high wing float plane can dock without a pre-drilled attendant. The wing easily clears dock. AND you can nose straight in because float tips have rubber bumpers. BTW, that low wing clearnce of dock makes entire dock useless to any one else and the wake of a passing boat will damage or destroy your wing. Get a Super Cub.
@@GaryJamesKnight No need. Let us just stipulate that you are more athletic than I. Anyway, no float plane or amphib can assure certainty in docking given wind, waves, current and idiots. For example, 15 yrs ago i was fuelling at the Greenville fly-in and suddenly found some fool standing on the float of a Citabria whose engine was off but its trajectory was clearly going to wreck the wing of my SuperCub. There was nothing for it but dive into the water and grab his float. Saved my wing but not my cell phone. And once in Halifax NS i was getting fuel at the quay when a guy in the stern of a huge rusty trawler told me that if i didn’t move my f……ng plane in two minutes they would back over it. Adventure comes in great variety.
Great stuff! I'm an inactive pilot (disabled), but love living vicariously through your videos. Keep the content coming. And, savor every moment--you rarely know when a flight will be your last...
Just a private pilot license, I was doing salt water in this video, handles just fine, 4.5 hours on one tank which is way too much, I've only done it once
One of the most dangerous LSAs in the market, EXTREMELY overpriced and equally underpowered, and the manufacturer just filed bankruptcy.... Only a criminal would try to sell this aircraft.
@GaryJamesKnight The performance specs on it were written with 5 gallons of fuel and 1 pilot. It's sluggish and underpowered in the best of conditions and can't climb out of its own way, which is what killed an Icon engineer and test pilot when they attempted to outclimb a canyon with an elevation change of 650' over 1.3 miles. To date, 209 A5s have been sold, 14% of them have already been destroyed in crashes, with 5 fatalities. Pretty sure you can't find a certified plane with a worse record than that... And I appreciate you asking which LSA sells more planes, because all of them, but if we narrow the field to certified LSA amphibians, then you have an argument. They do hd that one specific space, so in a field with no competition, you can be a leader. Get rid of the certificate, and Progressive Aerodyne outsells Icon 2 to 1, probably because you can buy 3 of them for the same price as 1 Icon.... and fully loaded they still beat the Icons empty performance.
@@GaryJamesKnight nothing with the plane is inherently dangerous. I think the cavalier attitude promoted by icon (initially, they pulled way back after all the deaths, remember the wing tip dragging promo video!?) and salesmen like this is problematic
My only problem n the reason I wouldn't get one if I had $500000 just sitting around is the low payload weight. I'm 250ish lbs so I couldn't even fly with a normal weight passenger n fuel so what would be the point of having one? If y'all can figure out how to add a couple hundred lbs of payload so people that aren't light enough to get blown over by the wind could enjoy them
Ive been saying this for years ICON A5 is under powered overweight overpriced 🔥💲🔥100hp is not good enough come on ICON when is the power upgrade coming 🤷♂️🫣
I have several owners at the 250lb mark who make it work and some who lose weight (me!!) to get in it, but I just don't see the argument that something that takes off in less that an 800' and clears a 50' obstacle in 1200' is underpowered. Would it be more fun with more power? Absolutely, but would it change how you use it? Absolutely not. It's also a small plane, 250lbs in something the size of a Lamborghini is tight man, even if it had the payload, would you want to fly with someone else that big in that tight a space?
@@GaryJamesKnight I'm not bashing on it's performance or power or even it's fun factor. It's more than adequate for what it is, I just want like an additional 70-100lb carry weight. If I was just going for some puddle jumping around by myself then yeah it's fine but something like this would draw a crowd as you know n you know how it is when them thick ladies come around asking for a ride lol
If you cant take off with 2 people and full fuel then it is underpowered also proven by the fact the SEAREY has a much better Climb Rate. Truth Hurts in the Flying World.🎯
@@darrenicon5172 There are things you can do with an Icon that you just can't do with a SeaRey. I have flown both. The A5 is MUCH more responsive - even more responsive than a SeaRey with the improved ailerons. Think about doing this docking with a SeaRey with its sponsons. I just don't see it happening. Wing folding - 2 minutes in an Icon but near an hour in a SeaRey (estimate from an owner I know). Turning takeoff with sponsons - not a good idea.
Good choice to be a pilot. Got an A&P and after a few years walked awsy with lots of prior technical training. Unemployed more than employed. Bad managers, people breaking rules, FAA is another anomoly. Have fun.
This is outstanding. I have to say, as a retired Air Force pilot with over 8000 hours of flying and licensed CFI-II ATP multi-eng, this video makes me want to investigate even further. I too came into this world as an "airplane nerd." And I was blessed with a great 38 year career in aviation. At the age of 66, I felt it was time to retire my aviation passion for many reasons. And I have direly missed it for 2 years now. Again, this airplane with this presentation from Gary-James Knight has put me onto further investigation with the hopes of possibly owning one. The best video line he used (a selling point for me) was "the fun of flying." I did it as a career & job which was hard work. But flew my C-172 on the side for my "fun flying." Yes I can truly identify. Thanks Mr. Knight.
Just curious how these hold up in salt water? I have a vacation house on the water with a boat lift. Thinking about parking the plane in there when I travel to my house. This seems like the ideal way to park my plane when I travel. However, just not sure how water tight the landing gear compartment is? I was going to buy a 42' boat, but I want this plane more than the boat. Besides, all of my friends have boats, but none of them have a plane parked in their boat lift.
There is metal hardware, like anything exposed to the saltwater, you have to have a spraydown/corrosion prevention plan to avoid corrosion build up on the matal. That being said, the entire airframe is carbon fiber, it does not corrode in saltwater AT ALL. The hardware obviously will, but it’s minimal and accessible. I am currently flying an airframe with 200+ hours of saltwater time and ZERO corrosion issues. If you are super serious, call me 813-770-9452
Thank you so much for this video. I'm sure it takes a ton of work, and concentration! I'm not a pilot, but in flight Sim this is my favorite plane to fly, and explore with. Have subbed, etc. and I look forward to more video adventures! 😃
