ICON Aircraft is a consumer sport plane manufacturer founded in response
to the sport flying category created by the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) in 2004. ICON’s first plane is the A5, an
amphibious sport aircraft that fuses outstanding aeronautical
engineering with world-class product design. It has won some of the
world’s most prestigious design awards and has inspired a global
following..
Structural testing of the ICON A5’s airframe is one of
the final steps toward FAA approval and the culmination of years of
design, engineering, and testing. Following months of preparation, these
tests successfully confirmed that the A5’s airframe can sustain G-force
loads well beyond those encountered within the normal flight envelope.
The A5 is supported in a fixture while the aft fuselage/tailboom and horizontal tail structures are being stress tested.
Research, design, and validation of new aircraft structures requires a
variety of tests, and one of the last milestones on our way to FAA
approval is airframe static-load testing. During static testing, the
measured strength of the structure is compared to simulations and design
specifications to validate a safe design. Ultimate static strength
tests play a critical role in ensuring a structure like the A5 wing can
withstand extreme loads caused by nature, such as wind shear or other
large transient forces. Although these tests are an essential part of
the testing phase, it is rare that a structure ever encounters stresses
of this magnitude in the real world.
The tests require strict adherence to the standards established by
ASTM International, using detailed data acquisition and analysis models
to evaluate how the A5’s carbon fiber structure responds to simulated
flight loads. Based on those standards, weight was applied to the wings
and horizontal tail of ESN-2 (Engineering Serial Number 2) while it was
held in upright and inverted positions. The exercise simulated up to 4
Gs (limit load, the maximum the aircraft will experience during flight),
and 6 Gs (ultimate load, which is 150% of limit load). The
ultimate-load test involved applying enough weight to deflect the
wingtips more than 18 inches.
ICON’s tests also confirmed that the A5’s flaps, aileron, and control
linkages are able to operate freely with a full range of motion,
ensuring there is no binding or jamming so the pilot can maintain full
and safe control of the aircraft under high G loads.
The data produced by the testing successfully validated the A5’s
structural integrity and will be used as reference materials in the FAA
audit that confirms the A5’s airworthiness and clears it for serial
production.The company has received more than 1,800 order deposits and
was delivered the first production aircraft i
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