ICON Aircraft constructs and flies first production A5

At EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, ICON Aircraft unveiled the first production A5, an aircraft the company refers to as Engineering Serial Number 1 (ESN-1). This is the first A5 built from the production design, with production tooling, and using production methods and components. ESN-1 was built over a five-month period, from January to June of 2014, and successfully completed its first flight on 7 July 2014 in Tehachapi, California. This aircraft is one of three that will be used to verify performance and complete FAA approval prior to the start of customer deliveries in May of 2015. A second production prototype, ESN-2, is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion and structural testing this fall. The first three aircraft built will support the FAA approval process, and the third aircraft will be delivered to the first customer after that process is complete. ICON recently announced that it would begin operating in its new 140,000-ft² facility in Vacaville, California, in early 2015. The company is currently readying the factory and offices to begin full-scale manufacturing. Once at full production rates, the factory will be capable of producing more than 500 aircraft per year.