Ever dreamed of piloting your own airplane? Something you can take out on the weekends as easily as hauling out the jetskis? A Los Angeles based company is betting millions that consumers have been waiting for a small, light, and portable airplane to call their own.

I can see why this is a LA based company, you can imagine that the founders of Icon dreamed this up while stuck on the I405 for hours on end.  At first I thought this was a disaster waiting to happen, any Joe with $150 grand to spend will be able to fly above my house? Upon closer inspection of what Icon is setting out to accomplish, I can't help but be excited.

Founded by Kirk Hawkins, an ex Air Force pilot, Icon is staffed and backed by some Silicon Valley and aerospace heavyweights, both with engineering know-how and a few heavy rounds of investment.  Even JetBlue's Chairman Joel Peterson is betting that Icon can pull this off.  So what's all the excitement over?  

The A5 weighs in at just over 1400 lbs. and with it's retractable wings, can fit in the average garage.  It can take off on a path as short as 750 ft, and sports a 100 hp engine that can run on the same fuel you pump your car with.  You can cruise as slow as 50mph and go as fast as 120mph with the flick of a wrist. You can land it on a flat strip of pavement with it's retractable landing gear or on water (it floats!).  The A5 comes with a slew of safety features too. Included will be a propeller guard, wing angle of attack indicator, and a built-in parachute that helps the plane float downward in an emergency.

The key to the A5's appeal and ease of use is it's car-like interior design. You won't find the complicated switchgear, dials, and indecipherable alerts.  Icon says that piloting the A5 is a pleasant experience that is easy to get acclimated to.  

All this is possible thanks to a 2004 law that allows the use of what the FAA calls "Light Sport Aircraft". This is said to be the biggest change in over 50 years.  In order to fly the A5 you'll need your Sport Pilot License that requires that you spend 20 hours behind the wheel with an instructor, don't have any restrictive medical problems, keep your craft below 10,000 ft. and only fly in good weather.  The license will set you back as much as $3500 is obtain, which isn't much compared to the $140,000 you'll spend to buy and trailer your A5 home.

The A5 had it's official unveiling on June 11th and we hope to bring you one of the first test "drives" once it's available.