Flying the seaplane of the future, the Icon A5. The Icon A5 seaplane glides over the George Washington Bridge connecting New Jersey with Manhattan, high enough to keep drivers from getting nervous, but low enough that I can distinguish the colors of license plates. Ive never seen the bridge from this angle. For a driver, the bridges long light of red brake lights signals a commuting nightmare but from my vantage point, it just looks cool. Funny what a change of perspective accomplishes, right An automotive corollary to Murphys Law would be that your journey will definitely be more miserable today than it was yesterday. So hows this for a disruptionFlying for fun. Fewer rules. No TSA or security lines and little to no communication with authorities such as air traffic control. Have wings, will travel. Following the broad lines of a sun dappled Hudson River, my tiny two seat aircraft is heading south toward the spires of the Financial District, a schlep that would take the gridlocked drivers below an agonizingly long time. Im sitting in the left hand bucket seat, a yoke in front of me and one arm dangling out of the open side window. I wave lazily at the traffic below. Goodbye to all that. Game Army Men Rts there. Because, by God, a light sport aircraft is the way to get around. This is The Harper Spin, a weekly column from seasoned auto critic Jason H. Harper. Hes raced at Le Mans, crushed a car in a 5. The Verge. The A5 is a carbon fiber seaplane that only costs 2. Price is relative, granted, but were talking about a plane here. You can learn how to operate it in less time than it takes to binge watch two seasons of House of Cards. It is amphibious, taking off and landing from both land and water. And if things go really wrong, you can trigger an oversized parachute and float softly to the ground. Icon wants to change the flying world by appealing to the person who might otherwise buy a Ferrari. Instead of going out for a Sunday afternoon drive, Icon promises, you can soar. The company was founded in 2. Vacaville, in Northern California, some 5. San Francisco. Its one and only product is the A5, which was first unveiled as a prototype in 2. FAA. Deliveries will start in earnest next year. Icon says it already has some 1,5. News on Japan, Business News, Opinion, Sports, Entertainment and More. PC games that are completely free Save some cash and have a blast Take your pick of scifi, shooters, adventures, and more. The A5 is one of a new breed of plane, called Light Sport Aircraft LSA, which are limited by weight, speed, and a maximum of two seats. The cabins are not pressurized, which makes the hardware simpler and limits altitude. The general idea is that LSAs are aircraft that are streamlined and easy to operate. In an odd twist, its a government agency that pushed to make LSAs possible we have the FAA to thank, according to Icons CEO and founder, Kirk Hawkins. The industry has been over regulated for many, many years. The FAA is actually trying to right that, he says. In 2. 00. 4, the agency opened the skies to LSAs, and also a less demanding level of license, called a Sport License. The idea is to bring the fun back to flying, says Hawkins. You can qualify for a Sport Pilot License in as few as 2. There are limitations, of course these pilots cannot fly at night, in congested airspace, or in lousy weather. But incredibly, those restrictions dont have much impact on the corridor up the Hudson overlooking New York City. The idea is to bring the fun back to flying. On a sunny fall morning, I arrived at a pier in northern Manhattan to find two A5s bobbing in adjoining slips. One look makes it clear that this is not regular plane. If the Cessna Skyhawk in production in various forms since 1. Toyota Corolla of private planes, the A5 is a Porsche Cayenne. The shape is streamlined and svelte, with wings sprouting from the cockpits top rear. The carbon fiber prop is behind the wings. Finale 2014 Torrent Download here. In all, it is a radical design, unlike any plane Ive ever seen. At 2. 3 feet long, its also small, roughly the size of a crew cab, long bed pickup. It is 8. 1 feet high with a modest wingspan of 3. The landing gear retracts for water landings, and the wings fold so that it can be carried on a trailer. Because of its light weight 1,5. Rotax 9. 12 to propel it to a top speed of 1. Itll even run on pump gas. Imagine rolling up to your local Shell in one. I drop into the cockpit next to Jeremy Brunn, a grinning Navy pilot who is the director of flight training at Icon. I promise him that it is impossible to get me air sick and that I really want to see how well the A5 maneuvers. He gives me a well see look. We push off the pier, turn on the prop, and navigate into the open water. Then Brunn pulls back on the A5s stick and we skip on top of the water, avoiding a clump of questionable floating debris, and then lift effortlessly off. Quickly gaining altitude, we carom south, over the Hudson and toward the bridge. It is breathlessly easy, totally drama free, and requires no contact with an air traffic controller. No permission is needed from anyone, actually, as long as we adhere to specifically designated air spaces. We had to take off north of the Bridge, for instance. For the first time in a long time, the phrase freedom of flight has a ring of authenticity to it. Im breathing real air up here, a far cry from the stuffy airliners were used to. The western side of Manhattan opens up to our left, glass and steel glinting in the light. It almost feels illicit, as if we are getting away with something. Were hundreds of feet above sea level, not thousands, and helicopters cross above us jetliners glance across the sky above them. Thats when Brunn tells me to take the stick. Ive flown a Cessna before or, perhaps more correctly, briefly controlled, and the A5s controls strike me as more finessed, more highly tuned. The yoke has a nice weight to it, and the plane makes altitude and lateral adjustments with slight pressure. Still, its not fidgety. And there are only nine gauges in front of me. Simple. I could learn to do this. Brunn takes back over when we reach Lady Liberty, and we cartwheel around the statue as tourists on a Circle Line ship crane their necks. Then we head back north so that Brunn can show off the A5s chops. First on his list a mid air stall. If its controlled, a stall isnt a problem at all but it can also happen when a pilot gets things seriously wrong, mistakenly positioning the plane so that its wings are no longer getting lift. The result is a loss of altitude and sometimes all control, and a potential spiral. It is one of the leading causes of crashes among private aircraft. Icon claims that the A5 is the worlds first plane with a spin resistant design. Hawkins, the CEO, told me that this technology is baked into the overall design, and is the result of a series of engineering solutions. I cant just point to one element, he said. But youll experience it yourself in the air. This can be a sports car for the sky. And indeed, the center of the cockpit is dominated by an angle of attack gauge, which shows how air is interacting with the wings. I watch the gauge travel from green to red as Brunn forces the plane into a stall. A warning beep rings through the cabin. At this point, the shit often hits the fan and the plane nose dives. Not so in the A5. A shudder runs through the cabin, but the nose stays aloft. He eventually relents and the gauge sinks back to green and the dreadful alarm ceases. Cool, right Brunn casually asks. When we cross back over the bridge, I urge Brunn to do some maneuvers. After all, this guy used to pilot FA 1. Infinity 1 Aircraft Control Stick Grip. Home Infinity. 1 Quick Build Kit Canard Sport Aircraft Infinity. Calculated Performance. Retractable Main Landing Gear for Canards Military. Style Stick Grips HOS. Military Style Control Stick Grips for Aircraft, and for MANYother. News Flash. As of May 2. Stick Grips are FAA Certified in the Adam. Aircraft A 5. 00 and A 7. This is. our 4th production aircraft in which to be certified as Standard Equipment. More News We now. War Bird. Stick Grip replacement It can also be used in ANY aircraft LEFT or right. Also, we now have a Relay Deck See. And More News Darryl. Greenamyer has won the Sport Class Gold at Reno in 2. Lancair Legacy, which has our Stick Grip. In fact, the first 4 planes had our Stick Grips PLEASE NOTE  most of the Reno Sport Class Race. Planes are flying with our Stick Grips And Even More News. May 0. 9, 2. 01. 1 the Northrup Grumman Firebird is. Stick Grips see time stamp 1 0. And the News Keeps Coming you can see our Stick Grips in another movie, Oblivion, about 14. Description. Youve spent years and thouand on your Dream Machine Do. Pride and Joy with a Military Style Stick Grip. ON make contact if you bump them 12. Stick Grip switches. WILL NOT do this, and that the only way to mount it is to glue it on then. Our Military Style Stick Grips HOS that are. Infinity 1 Quick Build Kit Sport Aircraft are a high quality original, similar to. F 4 Phantom, F 1. Eagle, A 6 Intruder, Cobra Gunship, Bat Plane. Sea. Quest, etc., but is about 0. Switches 9 switches total controlling 9 to 1. Functions no other stick grip for Sport Aircraft can control this much Thousands have already been installed in hundreds of makes. Yacht. and several 1 and 2 man submarines. FAA certified in the Adam. Aircraft,Micco and Eagle FAA certified. Field approved in Brantley, Bell 2. Hughes 5. 00, Enstrom, Hiller. Robininson, Aero Commander 5. As. Mooneys, Cessnas, Swifts and in blimps. Standard issue in several of todays. Sport Aircraft Kits, such as the Thunder. Mustang. Can be seen in the prototype Piper Jet, Viper. Jet, Express, Legend, Sherpa, Lionheart, Rutan Boomerang, Maverick. Twin Jet, Carter Copter, Adam. Aircraft. and their cockpit. Jim Dunns Fuel Cell powered E Plane, John Sharps Nemesis. NXT, Dick Rutans beautiful red, white and blue Berkut, Wayne Lanzas Velocity. Jeff Aucklands Radial. Rocket, Brian De. Fords Blonde Streak, Greg Richtors Jet. Cozy III, Steve Wrights Stagger. EZ, and many, many others. Also, installed in Wayne Handleys turbo prop powered Turbo Raven air. April 9. 9 issue of Sport Aviation. Duane Uptons Swift of the Swift Magic Team. Bill Cherwins yellow T 3. Lima Lima Flight Team. Can. be seen in the Cafe Foundation article about Mark Beduhns Cozy. Sport Aviation April 9. Jean Prudhommes Velocity. April 9. 9 Kitplanes article page 7, and in Bob Warners. Sport Aviations July 9. In fact, our Stick. Grips are in someones featured plane, andor in an ad, in just about every. Stick Grip is specifically mentioned. Also, installed in military planes such as T 3. Migs, CJ 6. As, T 6SNJs, P 5. L 3. 9s, Yakss, Marquettes, and more. Select. Lancair Avionics, provide. Stick Grips as standard issue with all their custom panels. Used. in simulators at Edwards AFB, the FAA in Oklahoma City and the Navy in Texas. Wright Patterson AFB, and Eclipse 5. NASA. to control their UAVs Unmanned Air Vehicles sims made in Canada, sims made. Austria, sims made in New Zealand and sims made in Australia. Used in crop. dusters and turbine. US Post Office controlling robot arms to pick up huge. GAMA Radiation machines to kill Anthrax after. SWAT bomb retrieval robots to control electric wheel chairs. Toyota Camry engine assembly line machining. Ford Motor Company in a futuristic car fire trucks to aim and shoot the. Principias. Solar Car as a shifter in Corvettes, jeeps, Ford F 1. Mustang, and off road. CD players, Nitrous Oxide and various other vehicle systems functions. Miami Vice in the Adam 5. Virtual Reality VR games and simulations Aces Flight Simulators at the Mall. America used on a Caterpillar. Excavator for the Harlem River Tunnel and. Click here for reasons why you need a co pilot Stick Grip       Click here to. Stick Grip from the pilots      Click here for how to rotate a toggle switch      Click here for how to remove a switch      Click here for how to mount your custom Stick Grip onto your stick tube      Click here for why our web site is laid out like it is       Click here for FAQs Click here for Testimonials NEWS FLASH We are now taking. HOT in the world Throttle. Handle and 3 lever Quadrant with individual lever friction HOT we have. K to go. Click here for CAD ISO. CAD dimensions. Click here for. Left Prototype. The prototypes. Sun N Fun and Oshkosh See our Home. Page under Future Products Coming near the bottom of the page for. HOT features. For Delivery Time, click here. For a Stick Grip interactive Order Form using your credit card, or check, PMO or bank check, click here. Click here if you do not have the FREE Adobe Reader to open the form. For a Stick Grip. Accessories, Extra andor Spare Parts Order Form, click here for an interactive Excel File. For How to Wire our Stick Grips into your system, click here. Click here if you do not have the FREE Adobe Reader to open the form. For what spacers you may need for your plane if your stick. OD, click here. For How to Install our Stick Grips onto your stick tube, click here. Click here if you do not have the FREE Adobe Reader to open the form. For our really nice already Pre Made Relay Deck for your FlapsSpeed Brakes and Trim, click here. Schematic of our Relay Deck for your FlapsSpeed Brake and Trim, click. You want to buy your own relays for your FlapsSpeed Brake, click here. Here are schematics for How to Wire your Flaps Speed Brake relays into your plane, click here. You want to buy your own relays for your Trim Systen, click here. Here are schematics for How to Wire your Trim System into your plane. INFINITY Aerospace. Stick Grip with safety, comfort, functionality and durability in mind. Infinity 1. that also fits all aircraft. The anatomical ergonomic design is contoured to the. The non glare black finish is abrasion and impact resistant for long life, yet. Stick Grips and Throttle Handles with switches built into them. HOTAS system, should be standard issue in ALL. But note  OUR Stick Grips also have ergonomically located switches. Definition INFO  The term HOTAS is used in the military and airline. Hands On Throttle and Stick. Also, JD came up with the terms HOT which stands for. Hands On Throttle, and HOS which stands for Hands On Stick. Click any of these to see a How to Install our Stick Grips. Heres a gif. too. Our Stick Grip has a 1 diameter hole in the bottom to. A 2. 96. 4 hole is drilled 0. Stick. Grips lower boss and screw to clamp through, and the Stick Grip halves to. You DO NOT verglue our Stick Grip to your stick tube NOTE. Oshkosh 2. RV 8 builder who was killed when his glued. UP. jamming into the underside of the instrument panel Spacers are available if your aircraft. OD is less than, or greater than, a standard 1 OD stick tube i. Lancair 2. 00s, 2. Legacys newer Legacys. Canards. Lancair IVs, Lancair ES and the Nemesis NXT, use a long 34 spacer.