Icon A5 Amphibious Sport Plane Folding Wing Videos

Following are 2 videos of the Icon A5 Amphibious Sport Plane. The first video is of the wings folding. The second is more details explanation about the ICON A5. Starting at just under $140,000 it is in the high range of Sport Aircraft with delivery set for 2010, but it does work on land or water. Equipped with a 100-hp Rotax 912 ULS, folding wings and a cockpit that looks more like a cars, the Useful Load is between 430 - 530 lbs and maximum speed is 105 kts putting in squarely in the Sport Pilot rules category. While the aircraft looks great, Icon’s splashy PR campaign, car inspired dashboard (not suitable for serious pilots as it limits the type of Avionics) and sophisticated sales pitch are clearly aimed at investors and non-pilots. Hopefully they are just looking to expand their base by bringing in new pilots. I worry that they may end up like so many other start up aircraft companies that litter the aircraft industry scrap heap. I think I will hold off on my deposit for a while.