The decade from 2010 to 2019 for General Aviation was one of tremendous technological progress, from computer watches to autonomous flight control. Manufacturers also launched some amazing new planes, including a jet from Cirrus, the incredible globetrotting Gulfstream G650, a remarkable diesel twin, the DA-62, from Diamond, among others. At the same time we in GA continued to fight against onerous regulation, often but not always successfully, while working to keep the activity we love open, accessible and fun, challenges that won’t end with a new decade but that will certainly be met by a population of passionate aviators focusing on what really matters, the joy and freedom of flight.
The Icon A5
If the 2000s had Eclipse, then the 2010s had Icon, a company whose marketing and message were a slick as the composite finish on its two-seat LSA amphibian, sometimes a little too slick. The company took orders reportedly for more than 2,000 A5s. But a slow, expensive journey to market and a couple of high-profile fatal crashes, including of Baseball Hall Of Fame pitcher Roy Halladay, put the company in rough shape in more ways than one. In 2016, a controversy erupted over the companyâs owner contracts, which had numerous onerous and questionably enforceable clauses, which Icon subsequently toned down substantially. One big difference between the two high-profile high-wire acts of consecutive decades: Icon is still in business and making airplanes.