Travis AFB Sustainability Study Report Final Background Report | Page 177
New ICON aircraft pilot school
ISSUE
LAS‐1
Nut Tree Airport has potential for expansion of facilities
and operations, including a new pilot school for the ICON
aircraft.
Compatibility Assessment
In 2014, ICON Aircraft, a manufacturer of an amphibious light sport aircraft,
the ICON A5, established its headquarters adjacent to the Nut Tree Airport.
The facility is used for manufacturing, sales, training, and service while
utilizing the airport for flight training. The presence of the new aircraft
company is expected to greatly increase flight operations from of the
airport.
ICON A5 aircraft (Source: http://iconaircraft.com/)
ICON Aircraft was founded in 2006, with the first concept aircraft built and
flown in 2008. Beginning in the first quarter of 2015, the company began
operating a 140,000‐square‐foot facility in Vacaville, with the first delivery of
the aircraft in July 2015. The two‐seater plane can reach speeds up to
138 miles per hour (mph), has a wingspan of about 34 feet, and costs
around $200,000 to purchase. The ICON is classified as a Light Sports
Aircraft and is targeted at recreational pilots. While the demand for the
plane is high, the company is not prepared for high‐rate production,
planning to produce only about 20 planes in 2016.
ICON Aircraft offers flight training courses to pilots who purchase the
ICON A5 aircraft, including a complete training course for beginner pilots. A
Sport Pilot License (SPL) is given at the end of the 14‐day course, which
requires 30 flight hours. While the plane itself is advertised as easy to fly,
new and inexperienced pilots may lack knowledge of the surrounding
airspace and proper airspace procedures. During typical training to obtain a
general pilot’s license, pilots are instructed to watch for conflicting traffic,
keeping their eyes outside the cockpit. However, there is usually little
formal instruction or procedures to identify potential collision threats. The
SPL allows pilots to only fly under visual flight rule (VFR) conditions, making
them unable to fly at night or during inclement weather. The aircraft is also
limited to a maximum altitude of 10,000 feet mean sea level (MSL). Flight in
controlled airspace requires additional training and instructor sign‐off that is
not part of standard training.
Travis AFB is located seven nautical miles (approximately eight statute miles)
southeast of Nut Tree Airport. Aircraft based at Travis AFB are large aircraft,
which are flown for training and mission operations. In addition to these
TSS Background Report
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