Watch this video: http://www.iconaircraft.com/video-icon-a5-in-microsoft-flight-behind-the-scenes.html

The problem is, these guys spend hundreds of hours of designing, testing, debugging etc. And you can see from that video they took their job very seriously to reach any segment from casual to hardcore. But there will always be people who wont get out of the loop saying. it's an arcade, arcade, arcade...I saw that video a few weeks ago and I could understand, they are doing everything they can to deliver realism and at the same time make it fun for the masses.Since I tried the beta I could see Flight is a step forward and it just needed time to improve and evolve.It's really elegant.

http://youtu.be/T-aZTi8bY3Q

Great video.

The problem is, these guys spend hundreds of hours of designing, testing, debugging etc. And you can see from that video they took their job very seriously to reach any segment from casual to hardcore. But there will always be people who wont get out of the loop saying. it's an arcade, arcade, arcade...

Yes and sadly, there are some of the above that won't even give Flight a try, due to the "perception" they have of the product.I was almost one of those myself - and as can be seen from my thread regarding Flight after 9 days, boy did my thoughts on the product change in a big way.

The Flight Icon is a joy to fly.Now we just need the Flight model to add the flaps as requested by the designers and the FAA.

The video of the A5 was pretty neat. And it's interesting to see now how the development went. But now I have one question... why are the flaps not on the A5 in Flight? I had no idea and just thought maybe because of the size of the aircraft it didn't require flaps. But now that I've watched videos on the A5 I'm wondering why they were left out yet they paid a lot of attention to other details.Ninja'd

The video of the A5 was pretty neat. And it's interesting to see now how the development went. But now I have one question... why are the flaps not on the A5 in Flight? I had no idea and just thought maybe because of the size of the aircraft it didn't require flaps. But now that I've watched videos on the A5 I'm wondering why they were left out yet they paid a lot of attention to other details.Ninja'd

The Icon was intended to not require flaps. They are a recent addition, after that didn't work out.

The video of the A5 was pretty neat. And it's interesting to see now how the development went. But now I have one question... why are the flaps not on the A5 in Flight? I had no idea and just thought maybe because of the size of the aircraft it didn't require flaps. But now that I've watched videos on the A5 I'm wondering why they were left out yet they paid a lot of attention to other details.Ninja'd

Well, it's not MS Studios fault.Icon has changed the design of the aircraft several times.Icon with flaps -> Icon without Flaps and Finally Icon with flapsDuring the beta Gibbage found this one day:

February 16, 2012 – ICON is proud to announce that the A5 will be the first production aircraft in history to be designed to and completely comply with the Federal Aviation Administration’s full-envelope Part 23 spin-resistance standards once production starts. This is a tremendous safety advancement that can significantly reduce the number of loss-of-control accidents resulting from stall/spin scenarios, which are the most significant cause of fatal General Aviation accidents.ICON is intensely focused on delivering an aircraft that is safe and fun to fly for sport pilots of all skill levels. Because sport flying typically occurs at low altitude where stalls/spins are most unforgiving and dangerous, ICON felt that it was particularly important to explore ways to minimize these types of accidents. Spin resistance has been an extremely challenging project and represents a historic achievement for the ICON team.The rigorous flight-testing regimen validating this result was flown by Len Fox, a globally recognized test pilot and one of the world’s leading experts on spin testing. Fox tested over 360 test cases with a wide range of control positions, power settings, and centers of gravity. The wing design is unique, with cuffs on the outboard panels and multiple proprietary airfoils across the span of the wing. Additionally, these specialized airfoils used for spin resistance were not suited to the no-flap wing design ICON had previously planned to use on the A5, so ICON engineers chose to reintroduce wing flaps to preserve takeoff performance on the water. http://iconaircraft.com/news/a5-achieves-historic-safety-milestone.html

So there you have it.

Please watch this video and pay attention at 1:50-2:00

It's a plane designed with an easy learning curve. With the idea, that if you can drive, you can fly.

The Flight Icon is a joy to fly.Now we just need the Flight model to add the flaps as requested by the designers and the FAA.

You have any reading material about the flaps being readded on the real world unit? Last news I could find was about the removal of them. I've seen a few mention it has flaps again but I could never find any PR or news about the details of why.Edit: I see a link was provided after I wrote this.. Thanks!

Hi styckx,The link to their statement is 2 posts above yours.http://iconaircraft.com/news/a5-achieves-historic-safety-milestone.html

The Icon A5 makes me seriously think about getting the Private pilot license.. The Icon is listed for sale at 139'000 dollars.. to get the licence here in norway i need about 14'000$.. add norwegian tax on the airplane at about 35'000 and transport for about 5000 $ tax included...139000+ 14000+ 35000+ 5000---------= 193000$Its doable. Expensive, but doable. ^^ Cant afford anymore DLC for Flight though hehe.

The Icon A5 makes me seriously think about getting the Private pilot license.. The Icon is listed for sale at 139'000 dollars.. to get the licence here in norway i need about 14'000$.. add norwegian tax on the airplane at about 35'000 and transport for about 5000 $ tax included...139000+ 14000+ 35000+ 5000---------= 193000$Its doable. Expensive, but doable. ^^ Cant afford anymore DLC for Flight though hehe.

Wow that's like a mortgage.... bit small to live in though! :P

Why do they keep insisting on naming things after bits of paper? you've got the Icon A5, the Audi A4, the Rockwell B1 etc... Although I must admit, I can't wait for the Boeing Spiral Bound Jotter Pad and the Airbus Narrow Feint Ruled School Exercise Book when they start running out of all the short snappy paper names. :LMAO:Al

Why do they keep insisting on naming things after bits of paper? you've got the Icon A5, the Audi A4, the Rockwell B1 etc... Although I must admit, I can't wait for the Boeing Spiral Bound Jotter Pad and the Airbus Narrow Feint Ruled School Exercise Book when they start running out of all the short snappy paper names. :LMAO:

Thanks Al! That's the best laugh I've had in a long time!Hook