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The "Flying car"


Hiflyer

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Reading around, I have noticed people kind of laughing at the "Flying Car" being shown in the MSFlight promotion pics making their way around the web. I have even seen comments on how stupid and unrealistic it was, and I was surprised when I eventually found out that it was, in fact, an actual vehicle. It actually seems kind of cool!

Just wondering if Aerosoft (or whoever) might ever be interested in also having a try at it. :P

http://www.iconaircraft.com/

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Devon,

The people who are calling it a "Flying Car" are clueless in regards to the aircraft. The Icon is an LSA amphib that can be trailered behind a vehicle. As you have found out, it is a very real aircraft. The last couple of years, Icon Aircraft has had their aircraft at Oshkosh-Airventure and I have actually sat in the cockpit of their demonstrator aircraft. I have also witnessed a flight demonstration of the aircraft at the Oshksosh-Airventure Seaplane base. It is an amazing performing aircraft.

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Hello Marty,

Does it really serve any practical use though. Not like you can take the wife and kids along, but then is that good or bad ;)

Since it says "Light Sport Craft" on the manufacturers website, I would assume that it is meant as a recreational vehicle, right in there with Jet Skis, ATV's, Powered Hang-Gliders and all manner of other impractical premium vehicles mostly used on weekends. :D

As with all of those, it looks like extravagant fun. I would not be surprised to find them available for rental at high-end resorts one day. Or taking the place of the Manhattan helicopter ride, for tourists. (I am trademarking that last idea!!!) :P

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For me, it has all the hallmarks of the Aptera - a triumph of marketing and investor funding over actual, practical engineered production. Anyone seen a picture of the production line? Spoken to an employee who actually works on customer aircraft?

It's an LSA that first flew in 2008 yet four years later still hasn't even found a home, much less founded a customer delivery schedule. In the same timescale many other actual aircraft manufacturers have pictured, designed, built, flown, certified and production-engineered actual aircraft delivered to actual customers. Hell, I even built my own aircraft in less time.

The biggest headline Icon can come up with is that they are the aircraft of choice in MS Flight - a product which is a caricature of what a real aircraft simulator should be...

Anyone else see the irony..?

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Does it really serve any practical use though. Not like you can take the wife and kids along, but then is that good or bad ;)

The LSA category is not a family hauler type aircraft cateory. It is designs conform to the ASTM International’s F-37 Light-Sport Aircraft Committee Consensus Standards, which were accepted by FAA in 2005. It is more of a recreational category.

http://www.sportpilot.org/learn/final_rule_synopsis.html

As of June 2011, Icon Aircraft has over 500 orders and plans production in the 4th quarter of 2012. http://www.eaa.org/news/2011/2011-06-30_icon.asp

In August 2011, they announced that they received another 143 new orders in the week of Oshkosh-Airventure. http://www.flyingmag.com/aircraft/lsasport/icon-scores-big-airventure

Simon, as to your comment about taking so long to produce the aircraft, there are flight sim developers that seem unable to produce a sim aircraft in about the same time. I personally would rather see a company take their time and produce a quality product the first time, then rush something out, killing some people and go back to the drawing board with a redesgin.

This aircraft is one my wishlist for purchase in the next five years. Just like flight sim products, I am not a first adopting at release time and will wait to see what happens if and when Icon starts producing this aircraft. My alternate purchase will probably be the Flight Design CT series.

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I drew the analogy with Aptera with consideration:

Between mid-2007 and August 2008, Aptera Motors has received around 4000 refundable deposits for the Aptera 2e and Aptera 2h[33] from California residents, approximately two thirds of those for hybrids. The rate of accrual of new deposits has slowed dramatically in the wake of the onset of the 2008-09 recession and the oil price crash. As of January 2010, the number of unique deposits tracked at the unofficial Aptera forum has surpassed 5000. Accounting for cancellations, it was stated by the company that, by mid-March, there were only 3,100 deposits remaining

The similarities with Aptera and Icon are both thought-provoking and worrying.

It does not take a fully-funded startup four years to produce an LSA. Icon A5 does not contain any significant new technology. It simply repackages what has all been done before.

The plain fact is that if they haven't made any after four years, the chances of them making any and selling them in the midst of the recession and with General Aviation very much on the back-burner is slim-to-outside. Especially when other LSA's are being brought to market, put on sale and actually purchased by the previously potential customers for the Icon A5 then they're stuffed.

Interestingly, at least ten new LSA designs started after Icon, yet are already on sale... that does not bode well for Icons' share of the recreational spend market in the near-to-mid term.

It just smells like another Aptera waiting to happen.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Aerosoft

Has there ever been a seriously successful push prop aircraft? I can't think of one and I can think of many reasons why it is problematic. Not having smooth air coming into your prop creates a sh#tload of issues. From noise via lack of propulsion to vibrations.

As always, if you see something that's not normal there might be a lot of good reasons why it is not done more.

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I had actually asked once if Aerosoft would consider doing the Starship, and somebody pointed me to another site that was apparently working on one. As far as I know, those people have disappeared, or at least I cant find them.

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Has there ever been a seriously successful push prop aircraft? I can't think of one and I can think of many reasons why it is problematic. Not having smooth air coming into your prop creates a sh#tload of issues. From noise via lack of propulsion to vibrations.

As always, if you see something that's not normal there might be a lot of good reasons why it is not done more.

Hi guys, what about the Seamax?

http://www.seamax.com.au/

There is also an X-Plane version by Jrollon who make the CRJ. :)

http://www.jrollon.com/Seamax.html

Dave.

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Let's just take a Devil's Advocate look at the Icon - it is a pretty plane for an LSA. Very pretty. The wing folding makes it practical for loading on a small trailer, so it can be towed as easily as a glider. The planned cost is not that much, so it will appeal to the lower budget sports pilot.

Also - they have some very serious people on the Icon staff, heck, even I recognise the name "Phil Conduit" and I am an Airbus man...

All you declaimers saying it hasn't progressed in several years - have you actually tried to get an aircraft certified for safe and legal flight? Even companies with CLOUT like Airbus and Boeing need to fly the 'arris off just one or two "proofs of concepts" before the authorities will let them go into production. Even the first A321 took a couple of years to start selling in "market qualntities".

So don't knock thinks when a really small company tries to get their new plane on the market - they have a LOT more work before they can go into mass production.

Although.... jumping on the Microsoft Flight bandwagon may not have been a very wise move. I can see it now: Oh... they needed extra advertising for their game, so they built a real plane from the game...

:diablo_s:

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