Icon A5 amphibious light sport aircraft

Grey Havoc

Grey Havoc

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The boom off of the back of the airplane contains a parachute and is commonly used in spin testing. The production A5 will have a parachute, but it will be integrated into the airframe. The small lines on the airplane are tufts of yarn that allow engineers to see how the air is flowing around the airframe.

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The new wing cuff is visible on the leading edge of the A5 prototype.

[IMAGE CREDITS: Icon Aircraft/Wired.com]​

 
Was just theme of discussion in the German "Flugzeugforum". Could be a replacement for
those float equipped Pier Cubs/SuperCubs or Cessna, which are used e.g. in Alaska or
Canada.

But AFAIK it isn't intended for driving indepently on the road, although the wings are foldable.
 
I moved the Icon A5 to this section, as it isn't a project anymore, nevertheless still
has to win it's bread. Interesting class of aircraft, specs can be found here :
http://www.iconaircraft.com/specifications-and-features.html
If it could replace older aircraft as a light bushplane, I'm not so sure anymore, as 60lbs
of baggage would allow for carrying a shotgun or a fishing rod, but the prey probably
would have to be eaten up before taking off again . ;)
 
I find interesting the presence of what looks like vortex generators aft of the cabin on the fuselage sides...i wonder if they're just experimenting, or trying to cure some flow separation discovered during testing.
I apologize for not being up to speed on this, but does anyone know why they are flying the modified/spin resistant cuffed wing? did they have issues with the old one?

BTW, lots of references on the NASA developped cambered cuffs on the NTRS, for those interested.
 
AeroFranz said:
I find interesting the presence of what looks like vortex generators aft of the cabin on the fuselage sides...i wonder if they're just experimenting, or trying to cure some flow separation discovered during testing.
I apologize for not being up to speed on this, but does anyone know why they are flying the modified/spin resistant cuffed wing? did they have issues with the old one?

BTW, lots of references on the NASA developped cambered cuffs on the NTRS, for those interested.
Click to expand...
Separated boundary layer airflow is common on small pushers, especially those with side-by-side seating. The problem is the aft cabin tapering too abruptly for airflow to remain attached. The aft cabin of many small, pusher flying boats tapers from 4 feet wide to zero width in only 4, maybe 8 feet.
The primary reason that cabin aft bodies are so short is the need to balance a heavy engine as close as possible to the center of gravity. This usually means installing the propeller IMMEDIATELY aft of the wings' trailing edge.
Only a few small flying boats got propeller extension shafts (e.g. Republic RC-3 Seabee).
Plenty of Taylor Coots, Ospreys, Glass Geese, and even a few Seabees have grown vortex generators to cure airflow problems.
 

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