Overview of Personal Aircraft Manufacturers Icon

Overview of Personal Aircraft Manufacturers Icon

Since the Wright Brothers first took flight in 1903, the world of aircraft has changed tremendously. While most of today's aircraft manufacturers are tried-and-true mainstays in the market, some of the more popular are actually brand new companies, doing things a little bit differently by breaking from the status quo.

Founded in 2005, Icon Aircraft Company is a privately owned and operated business aiming to make aircraft and aviation more accessible to the general public. Only a little more than four years in the business, Icon is already considered to be among the top in their respective field - and, ironically, they haven't released a plane yet.

Icon deals in aircraft differently by focusing on the fun more than flying. Instead of designing and developing aircraft that are suitable for merely transportation, Icon develops a line of sleek, stylish planes that are both attractive and fun to fly.

The cockpits look more like the inside of a luxury Mercedes-Benz or a Rolls Royce instead of the common aircraft; and the compact designs of the planes makes for easy private storage in a basic-sized garage or even a trailer. The lightweight and strong carbon fiber bodies and the almost jet ski-like design stand out as original whether on the ground or in the sky.

Although Icon planes are technically ready and available to the public for order, none have been delivered yet. Orders are set to go out in 2011. Right now, Icon is hard at work perfecting the design for their ICON A5 model - an amphibious two-seater that comes in light in weight and price at 139k.

The current A5 has a top speed of 120 miles per hour and can travel 300 nautical miles on a tank of gas. The idea of the A5, apart from being fun to fly and attractive, is to take off and land on both water and dry land. Icon has already announced plans for a future seaplane-only model, and they've stated intentions to add more designs to the light-sport aircraft market.

Icon Aircraft is owned by Steen Strand and Kirk Hawkins. The two met while attending class at Stanford University. Hawkins, a former United States Air Force pilot, had experience flying F-16s and Boeing 767s for American Airlines.

Along with Strand's knack for design, the duo decided to enter into the aircraft business after the inclusion of the light-sport aircraft license to the Federal Aviation Administration's regulations. Strand previously worked on designing skateboards and also in marketing.

The relatively small company is located in Las Angeles, California, and Icon Aircraft is currently working on opening a second location in Tehachapi, California as well. The latter location is where the team wants to build and test their aircraft models before releasing them to the public.

The company is well-staffed, featuring nine employees with backgrounds in specialty fabrication and aerospace engineers. Presales haven't been as expected due to the struggling economy, but Icon still has over 400 orders in for the A5.