Has anyone seen one of these in person?

[jimmydeanno]

Just saw this: http://www.iconaircraft.com/

Looks "super awesome" to me, just wondering if anyone has any first hand interaction with it.  Thoughts?

Price is estimated at $135,000 and first delivery is in 2010...

[CAPLAW]

I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jeders]

Nice, but I don't think I'll have one in my hangar anytime soon.

[♠SARKID♠]

Okay, the Lexus fund just got re-appropriated.

[notaNCO forever]

that looks like one cool plane. By the looks of it you only need a sport pilot license to fly it. Takes care of the need for a boat and plane all at once.

[airdale]

They had a nonflying display model at OSH.  Very slick package, very slick and expensive display.  The market need for the folding wings isn't obvious to me however.

That said, my experience is that startups with super-slick marketing (like these guys) usually founder for one reason or another.  Often it is that the management is so oriented to the marketing that they forget to make the product work, forget to get it out on time, or spend all the money on the marketing and on themselves before they finish the product.  Whoever their VC angels are they are not likely to be patient and understanding, especially in this investment market.  We'll see.

[Pumbaa]

Folding wings make perfect sense.  Transport it via trailer to your garage, no need to rent a hanger!  Haul it to your local lake and use that as your take off and landing spot.

I think of wear I grew up.  Had a large lake nearby, but the nearest landing strip was 20 minutes away.

[MIKE]

I suppose I should know this as an Auxie, but do you have to register a sea plane as both a boat and a plane?

[SAR-EMT1]

Negative. HOWEVER, using "no wake" areas for a runway is verboten. 

Now the real question: can a VSC be performed on a seaplane   

[Rob Sherlin]

Now that's an awesome toy! I don't know if would classify as sport, ultralight or experimental, but it sure is cool!

[Rob Sherlin]

I had to go back and look again! It would be real cool if they added wheel options to take off and land on solid ground too.

[BillB]

No boat registration is required for a seaplane. Just FAA registration. In fact USCG regulations don't apply to seaplanes (life perservers etc)  But many regulations that apply to boats also apply to seaplanes such as no wake rules.  I used to own a Lake amphibian, so I learned about seaplane rules and FAA regulations that apply to seaplanes.

[davidsinn]

I had to go back and look again! It would be real cool if they added wheel options to take off and land on solid ground too.

It has optional retractable tricycle landing gear.

[brasda91]

I had to go back and look again! It would be real cool if they added wheel options to take off and land on solid ground too.

Look again:

http://www.iconaircraft.com/features.html

[flynd94]

Seen it..... an old student of mine is one of the engineers on it.

[Major Lord]

It reminds me of the Hoverhawk, a hovercraft that flew over water in ground effect. Very cool! Popular Science has this animals' big brother on the cover this month: http://www.popsci.com/falxair

Major Lord

[DC]

It reminds me of the Hoverhawk, a hovercraft that flew over water in ground effect. Very cool! Popular Science has this animals' big brother on the cover this month: http://www.popsci.com/falxair

Major Lord

That thing is freaking cool. Like a personal Osprey....

[jspear]

I saw it a couple of weeks ago at the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction..

It is very cool

[Rob Sherlin]

How about this one for a personal VTOL......

www.amvaircraft.com

[JGremlin]

I saw their static display last month at the AOPA EXPO. I'll echo what was said earlier about the track record for aviation startups who sink a ton of money into slick marketing before they actually have a product. That is especially true when the product is of an out of the ordinary design and/or contains a number of design feature which are brand new and therefore as yet unproven in the real world.

I wish them luck and I hope they do well. But based on what I've seen of their mockup and their choice to staff their EXPO display with young women who know far more about makeup then they'll ever know about aviation, I'd recommend against anyone giving them any deposit money until the planes are in production and rolling out the door. If fact, if the company were public, I'd probably short the stock.