Hawkins will have to assess whether he has the right mix of instructor cadre to conduct expanded training optimized for GA pilots, who have varied training backgrounds and are constantly managing time and funding constraints.Ībout a decade ago, Cirrus Aircraft had a troubling accident rate, and the reputation of the aircraft suffered despite significant safety enhancements. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. Icon may need to expand LOWAT education and perhaps infuse their training programs with methods to instill a culture and a mindset among Icon pilots that respects the demands of LOWAT flying, while still promoting the fun and adventure. Icon recently published a well-thought-out piece on LOWAT flying, providing some guidelines and considerations. To their credit, Icon requires transition training before aircraft delivery, which includes some LOWAT training. Most GA aircraft, including the Icon, have an added challenge of relatively limited engine power, which reduces the ability to escape exaggerated pitch attitudes and large sink rates. Concepts like “time to impact” and responses like “climb to cope” are essential parts of the subconscious when flying LOWAT.
Minor distractions are exaggerated into significant risks because of reduced time for recognition and recovery before ground impact. LOWAT flying demands constant awareness of “time to impact,” influenced by speed, altitude, and aircraft attitude. GA needs this kind of infusion.įrom limited information and public videos, probable cause in the Halladay accident will likely stem from his not fully appreciating the dynamics of low altitude (LOWAT) flying. Icon’s strategy is helpful to GA and, if successful, will infuse the community with new participants, taking advantage of FAA sport pilot rules that open GA at reduced cost and regulatory oversight. Icon Founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins is a driven Stanford graduate with an impressive military flying background and a brilliant vision to expand general aviation by appealing to a new cache of adventurous, spirited potential pilots, much like the kind of people flying appealed to at the dawn of aviation.
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