Icon Aircraft Secures Production Funding

Pia Bergqvist

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 07:16 PM ET

Verified

** Icon A5**

Key Takeaways:

Icon Aircraft received a $60 million cash infusion from international investors, led by a Chinese strategic investor, to fund full-scale production and future R&D.
Despite this being their fourth funding round and the A5 being announced nearly five years ago, Icon has yet to deliver its first customer aircraft, and further delays are expected.
A primary cause of the ongoing delays is Icon's year-long wait for FAA approval on a requested 250-pound weight increase for the A5 due to its spin-resistant qualities.
Icon claims to have secured nearly 1,000 deposits for the A5, indicating strong market interest despite its prolonged development and delivery timeline.

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Icon Aircraft, the developer of the Icon A5 amphibious light sport aircraft, has received a $60 million cash infusion from undisclosed investors in North America, Europe and Asia, “led by a top-notch privately held strategic investor from China,” according to Icon’s CEO and founder Kirk Hawkins. Icon maintains full control of the management of the company.

The company claims the money will be sufficient to establish full-scale production and to perform research and development for future models. This is the fourth round of funding that the Tehachapi, California-based company has raised. But nearly five years after the Icon A5 was first announced at AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the first flying prototype was shown, the company has yet to deliver its first customer LSA. And it doesn’t appear that the first delivery will happen any time soon.