Here are the prop parts (above left). The manual doesn’t spell it out but the prop goes with the camber of the blades facing forward. Note the long
well does it steer on the water, using only its aerodynamic rudder. Turning to the right wasn’t as good for me as turning to the left, which yields a pretty tight turn. The slight wind may have affected that. So it was left turns for me, though the folks at ParkZone say they’ve had equally good turns to the right. And if there’s wind on the water any turns will definitely be wider. But then, even with a water rudder, any float plane is a handful to steer when it’s windy. Using left turns I taxied the ICON into
takeoff position. It’s worthwhile to mention that the plane balanced at the 30–35mm point called for in the manual with the bat- tery forward in the tray. Best technique was to advance the throttle gradually, holding some back stick, then releasing it to let the model get on step and accelerate to flying speed. A little back stick and the model comes off the water smoothly. Instead of wing floats, the model uses the sponsons on the side of the fuselage for sta- bility in the water. But in turns on the wa- ter the plane will roll into the turn. That’s where the quasi tip floats come into play. Like the real plane they are designed to sup- port the plane like floats, but not dig in and cause a water loop. Still I didn’t feel com- fortable trying this at any great speed.
pushrod (above right) from the rudder servo to the nose wheel tiller arm. It can always be left in place since it’s recessed in a well below the battery tray.
So the plane was in the air. It did need
some up elevator trim but no rudder or aileron trim. It was soon obvious that it liked to move, flying best at about ²⁄₃–³⁄₄ throttle. Since it’s a pretty clean design it will scoot but not beyond a comfortable speed. When the throttle was below half, I did need to hold some up elevator to keep it level. It’s also decently responsive. It can whip
into some tight turns, and while it doesn’t have an aerobatic roll rate, the ailerons are fairly responsive. With what is a higher than usual aspect ratio, one of my first im- pressions was that the wing was almost glider-like; rolls will need some coordinated rudder/elevator to keep them axial. Other- wise they turn into big barrel rolls. So that’s what it’s like off the water and
in the air. What about land? Well it’s total- ly anticlimactic. That doesn’t mean takeoffs and landings are automatic, just that it doesn’t require much effort. One thing to watch, especially if you’re using a paved hard surface is the sensitivity of the steer- ing. As I already mentioned the only low rate I used was the rudder, to dampen the steering during takeoff. Though I haven’t tried it yet, I might bring the rudder low rate down below 50% and add some expo to see if that really tames the sensitivity.
While subsequent flights were kept at
that 4-minute mark, it appears that with the supplied 2200 mAh 3-cell Li-Po will eas- ily go to 5–6 minutes with enough reserve. That won’t apply if you fly full throttle all the way. A higher capacity battery could be used as long as its width is the same as the stock battery and it doesn’t weigh much more. The molded battery platform allows the battery to be shifted aft to provide the desired c.g. Unless you fly from a pristine white sand
beach or absolutely smooth grass, the mod- el will suffer some very slight hangar rash. So far it has banged into the rocks and brush on shore, and scuffed a wing tip on the pave- ment. But the visible damage is subtle and you really have to look the plane over to see it. The Z-foam is pretty resilient. My only regret about this plane is that the
cold weather and wind is settling into the Northeast and it hasn’t allowed much more flying. I’d love to get the ICON on the water some more, but it ain’t shorts and bare feet weather anytime soon. The Farmer’s Al- manac says it’s going to be a bad winter so there may be a somewhat silver lining in all that potential snow. It may be just another good perfect runway for the ICON A5. I’ll let you know.
Initial taxi tests on Tillson Lake with a little bit of chop (above left). It’s a good idea to taxi around first to get a feel for how the plane steers without a water
FLYING MODELS
rudder, then fly it. In air (above right) the ICON is agile but not as aerobatic as a sport plane. Nicely responsive but still docile, even at high rates.
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