Video: Keeping The ICON A5 From Spinning Out Of Control
Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 11:39AM
I've kept the long-running ICON A5 project at arms length, watching mostly from pretty far off. The flashy displays at OSH and the overall vibe just felt too much like big-project-promises from the past... and the fact that the airplane has the number '5' in doesn't help any. But having said all that, I can't deny that the airplane is beautiful, the design elements seem well thought out, and it looks like a joy to fly. Who wouldn't want an amphibious flying toy that looks like a sports car and is realistically fairly affordable?
This video posted the other day on the ICON youtube account tells some of the story as to why we're still waiting for this airplane to get into production. They've been attempting to engineer the possibility of a spin out of the A5's aerodynamic design. As a general concept I think it's a good idea. However, I really just wish we'd find better ways to teach people to fly. Stall/spin accidents that occur in takeoff and landing phase just shouldn't happen. But that's a long and difficult discussion to be sure. I did notice the posting in the comments section on the youtube page that ICON has achieved what they believe to be a truly spin resistant design without limiting the pitch control. They've done it by advanced wing design and left the pitch control alone.
You'll see Jon Karkow in this video, he's the Lead Aero Engineer for ICON, and that's a pretty big deal. I didn't know he was involved in the A5, and to me, his participation adds a lot of credibility to the A5. Jon spent 21 years as a key player in the development of many aircraft at Scaled Composites as an aeronautical and project engineer, and he's a very accomplished test pilot as well. Just knowing that he's involved has changed a lot of my attitude toward the A5 project.
One last thing I think is very important tho is that I really think that the ICON marketing department should stop showing the airplane making low turning passes over the water. The same pilot that doesn't wind up in a stall/spin accident because the airplane kept his dumb butt out of trouble is also the guy who's gonna drag a wingtip in the water with disastrous results. I'm always gonna argue for smarter pilots rather than smarter airplanes!
Video screenshot showing the sleek and beautiful ICON A5 amphibian in flight
Reader Comments (4)
Agreed, spin training should still be on the syllabus. I found out in '99 during a biennial check ride that most flight schools aren't teaching stall recovery either, 'imminent stalls' are the norm. The instructor I was with told me to recover when we heard the stall warning horn. I advised her that this was not a training flight and did the full list of full stalls for her. She was quite nervous. I asked her, "ya want me ta spin it ?" and was answered with a resounding "NO!". : D
I learned to fly in the seventies, early on in the spin training controversy. I was just a kid, but I figured it looked like fun, and if I could accidentally get a plane into that situation I'd like to know how to get it out.
Fortunately, I found instructors that shared my view. And while an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, I'm grateful to have learned real spins and recoveries.
I went on to take the basic Cessna Aerobatics course (in Kendalville) to get an even better sense for unusual attitudes (the 150 Aerobat was a dog, but it did what had to be done). I'm sure this training made me more confident during my instrument training and in every other aspect of my flying.
seerjfly and Michael Boze- good points for sure... and having both the knowledge and experience of spins and spin recovery will always lead to being a better pilot in essentially all phases of flight, while engineering the likelihood of a spin out of an airplane actually just encourages both pilots and the training system at large to be less than prepared for all that you might encounter.
I have some real problems with an a/c that does not spin.............what has been given up to develope a spinless wing...speed/manuvarbility,v1,v2,turbulence problems, etc
Will FAA type rate spin proof aircraft and non spinables
Has the spin been totally removed or in extrme manuvers do we bang into a non recoverable.