Aircraft Start-Up Targets Aspiring Aviators

LOS ANGELES (TheStreet) -- If you're looking for a get-funded-quick scheme, starting an airplane company probably isn't your best bet.

"It is difficult because of all the bad examples of failed airplane companies," says Kirk Hawkins, a former F-16 pilot who founded ICON Aircraft last year with sports product entrepreneur Steen Strand. "Most people look for examples of proof of how things get played out. It's a hard sell to convince them that this one will succeed, when the majority does not."

Still, the Los Angeles-based company already has received two rounds of funding, based largely on the idea that a recent Federal Aviation Administration regulation will make it easier for time-strapped adventurers to become plane-buying hobbyists.

A rendering of ICON Aircraft's A5, which will cost $139,000.

The FAA in 2004 created a new category called "light-sport aircraft," one- to two-seat planes that weigh no more than 1,430 pounds and fly no faster than 140 miles per hour. The rules that apply to recreational planes are far less stringent than those of traditional transportation aircraft. To receive a sports pilot certificate, newbie pilots must only undergo 15 hours of training and five hours of solo flight. Maintenance and manufacturing requirements are also looser than those of other aircraft. The rule caters to those who have "an emotional interest in flying, rather than just wondering, how can I get to Grandma's house faster?" says Hawkins, the company's CEO.

"Pilots are an identifiable culture," says Strand, ICON's co-founder and chief operating officer. "When you think about bringing innovation into a category, you have to navigate that."