Icon Aircraft is looking to make flying its A5 amphibious aircraft safer, as the company released details Monday about an angle of attack (AoA) indicator that will be standard on new production A5s.
(Icon’s AoA system. Photo, courtesy of Icon.)
The AoA can quickly indicate the aircraft’s wing position relative to oncoming airflow during flight. AoA systems are more commonly featured on military fighter aircraft, as most manufacturers of general aviation planes find the certification process and cost too arduous to place them in civil aircraft.
“This safety technology should be available to more pilots–especially new pilots and those flying small aircraft. ICON’s AoA gauge removes the ambiguity associated with using airspeed and gives our pilots a direct indication of how their wing is performing at any given time,” said Kirk Hawkins, founder and CEO of Icon Aircraft.
(Icon’s A5. Photo, courtesy of Icon.)
The instrument design includes a cockpit display directly in front of the pilot, with a gauge positioned at the top of the instrument cluster along with color-coded indications of how much lift the wing can deliver before it stalls.
Icon has completed development and testing of its AoA system, but has not indicated when the instrument will become standard on new production A5s.
Related: General Aviation Avionics News