Just checked the NitroPlanes.COM Homepage and there have a RTF of the Icon A5 now:

http://www.nitroplanes.com/4chguica5elr.html

Does anyone has experience with it already? I would like to get it, but this seems to be the first thread on RCGroups :-)

Thanks,

Andy

It looks cool to me

It would appear it's pretty new. There is a thread in the 'Waterplanes' forum about the full size only recently flying - Interesting new LSA amphibian in the works: The Icon A5

Anyone ordered this plane? I wonder how it flys.

Guanli Icon A-5 Seaplane. Part 1... the "Snow" test flight. (9 min 25 sec)

nice looking plae, if i can get some cash together i may pick one up

GuanLi Icon A5 does look great and is very quick and easy to assemble.. however I haven't had any luck getting mine to lift off out of the water.. tried it several times at max throttle in two spots .. the 2st had a little 2 inch chop at about 5 mph, so I went the 2nd time where the water and wind was perfectly calm.. it makes a nice looking motor boat, but aside from a couple short 1 foot skips.. it never got going with enough torque to lift it out of the water.. I am in contact now with NitroPlanes customer service.. and have asked for another fuse.. since there is no way to swap the motor alone with out major surgery.. the motor is glued into the top body of the fuse so you can't see or get to the mount at all to replace the motor.... in the interim I will try a three blade prop with more torque and see if setting the ELEVATOR and THROTTLE trims to max on the Txmtr help at all.. but I doubt they will.. the motor seems to simply be under rated .. Icy Snow has a lot less friction and yes i see it seems to take off easily in that case.. but I live in San Diego and expected to fly it off calm water not ice. it is possible that the tail section leaks too, i noticed about a
1/3 cup drain out after repeated attempts.. so i will seal all the seams next time too.. and take out the 2oz of nose weight Dave (above) had recommended for mitigating tip stall, and setting the CG closer to spec..

Ok so I put on GWS 9030 prop, pressed the foam below it down a little ( about 1/4 inch) so it would spin freely, pulled out the antenna tube and sealed the hole back aft, (I fly 2.4G anyway) and put a tie wrap in the elevator control rod to take the 1/2 inch of flex out (see Dave's video) and now I have pleanty of UP elevator, and the prop seems to have a lot less vibration and more thrust so I am ready to try it again..

Regards,
jimS

Hey Jim, Where do you fly in San Diego? I am frequently in San Marcos.

Can you recommend the A5? I was debating if I should get one :-)

Originally Posted by flyandi

Hey Jim, Where do you fly in San Diego? I am frequently in San Marcos.

Can you recommend the A5? I was debating if I should get one :-)

Yes i think it's a fun easy way to get into SeaPlanes.. and not a bad deal considering the battery, ESC and all servos are included.. ( tho the Tx and Rx were a waste for me , and i wish it were available without those particular parts) the printed instruction sheet is not bad but NightFlyer's video covered a lot of good stuff.. i am pretty sure with the fixes mentioned above that it's going to fly Ok out of the water.. but I hope I don't tip stall it on landing cause it's not very well sealed up.. easy to do but the paint will lift off IF i were to tape the hatch down ( for example).. only bad thing is there is no way to replace the motor without cutting it out.. the EPP used looks pretty good tho and easy to work with if it should come to that.

I like flying around Mission bay.. PM me and we can hook up over the weekend and try it together if you want so you can see it 1st hand.. i sprained my ankle while sloping last weekend so could use the help anyway.. and will put you up on a buddy box and let you fly it if you want to as well..

Hey Jim,
I will be down in San Diego on the next weekend. I will send you an PM if I know for sure.

Thanks for the offer :-)

Andy

tAKE YOUR TIME WITH THE PLANE IT IS AN AWESOME EXPEIENCE ONCE YOU FLY IT. iF YOU HAVE TOO GO BACK THROUGH SOME PAPER WORK ANS MAKE SURE IT'S CORRECT, i AM BUILDING ONE RIGHT NOW SO IF YOU HANVE ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL ME VIA JOSEPHCONNICK@YAHOO.COM GOOD LUCK

Originally Posted by connick50

tAKE YOUR TIME WITH THE PLANE IT IS AN AWESOME EXPEIENCE ONCE YOU FLY IT. iF YOU HAVE TOO GO BACK THROUGH SOME PAPER WORK ANS MAKE SURE IT'S CORRECT, i AM BUILDING ONE RIGHT NOW SO IF YOU HANVE ANY QUESTIONS EMAIL ME VIA JOSEPHCONNICK@YAHOO.COM GOOD LUCK

Joe,
I'm not sure what you mean by " iF YOU HAVE TOO GO BACK THROUGH SOME PAPER WORK ANS MAKE SURE IT'S CORRECT, " the plane was built correctly and CG is correct .. but there's not enough thrust on take off to get it up and out of the water safely.. last time out it snapped the larger GWS prop i put on it, trying to add a little thrust..
why don't you get yours built 1st and actually try it, then offer advice.. I would be eager to hear it..and see you demo videos..
JimS

I was just looking at this plane last week and just about to buy it... I"m glad I run into this thread. Anything new on the plane? Is it now flying?

Originally Posted by merlin703

I was just looking at this plane last week and just about to buy it... I"m glad I run into this thread. Anything new on the plane? Is it now flying?

It's hard to tell.. there is only one review up last i checked.. I posted one but since it was negative, I think that may be why it was never actually posted on the NitroPlanes site .. dunno.. i got an RMA and could have returned it back then but decided I would try again and if needed cut out the motor and it's mount out to replace the motor with a bigger one it needs .. but have a new 3 Bladed prop to try on it one last time .. and many other distractions and don't care much to go swimming again. I will likely know next Sunday am tho.. i have a commitment to fly it then if the winds not too hi.. i know that is key too, and not to try it in any chop or more than 5mph winds.. the SeaWind lets you put in a bigger motor easily.. and the Catalina's and others with two props likely do NOT have the low-thrust , tipstall risk the A5 does..it flipped over on take off four times in a row.. cause i have had trouble with the drag on take off causing it to be very unstable when you are 1st lifting off the water, it also leaks a bit but I can't figure out where .. .. aside from that i am sure it's a fine plane.. and I like to looks of it a lot.. JimS

Seawind has now been ordered. I'm not a builder and it seems the GuanLi will need many mods to get it flying nicely.