TenCate Advanced Composites is supplying materials used in a new consumer sport plane made by ICON Aircraft.
Composite materials made at TenCate's Morgan Hill, Calif., plant provide ICON's A5 Amphibious Sport Aircraft with high strength, light weight and outstanding performance in a wide range of environmental conditions, officials with Almelo, The Netherlands-based TenCate said in a Sept. 16 news release.
The A5 — a two-seat, light-sport aircraft priced at $189,000 — made its first successful flight on July 7. Los Angeles-based ICON will make the plane at a plant in Tehachapi, Calif., before moving to a larger location. The plane — ICON's first — has a flight range of 300 nautical miles and is able to reach a top speed of 120 miles per hour.
The launch of the A5 continues a busy year for TenCate. In April, the firm announced it was partnering with Performance Polymer Solutions Inc. — a high-performance resin maker in Moraine, Ohio — to develop and market prepreg materials to the aerospace industry.
In January, TenCate signed a marketing and development deal with Shanghai-based Leadgo-tech Co. Ltd. to support China's growing aerospace suppliers.