E-Flite/Horizon Hobby Icon A5

A great-looking amphibian with power to spare.

- Nick Ziroli

Officially licensed by ICON Aircraft, the ICON A5 from E-flite is a park flier that lets RC pilots make amphibious flights without a lot of fuss. The Bind-N-Fly version, which I am reviewing here, comes with a brushless-motor power system and a Spektrum AS3X flight-stabilizing receiver, all factory installed. Able to take off both from land and off water, it has excellent performance and makes a great sport flier. If you’re a newcomer to RC, the receiver’s built-in SAFE Select function can be activated to limit both pitch and bank angles so that you don’t accidentally over control the plane. This function also returns the wings to level flight when you release control inputs and lets the sticks go back to neutral. Here’s what I found when I opened the box.

UNIQUE FEATURES

The ICON A5 is molded out of sturdy Z-Foam, and all the surfaces have a very smooth and glossy finish. The wings, stabilizer, and other parts come in plastic bags, taped in place for safe transport. After viewing a number of online videos and photos of the full-size ICON, I realized that this model from E-flite is, indeed, an accurate scale model of the full-size amphibian. Even the automotive-style instrument panel in the model’s cockpit is well detailed. The hatch has a foam rubber gasket and is held in place with two pins in the front and two rear magnets. I doubt that any water will get inside the fuselage.