Despite rapid population growth and growth in the number of airline jobs, the number of pilots in the U.S. has declined roughly 25 percent since 1980 (source; FAA statistics show 692,000 active pilots in 1990 and 594,000 today). The U.S. population has grown from 226 million to 310 million while the number of Americans capable of operating an aircraft has fallen. If a grandfather is a licensed pilot, chances are that his grandchildren will be ground-bound. Light aircraft manufacturers fight over the scraps of what remains of the U.S. market and pin their hopes on sales to growing countries such as China, Brazil, and India. A typical scene in aviation is an old white guy from a manufacturer whose sales have been declining for 40 years trying to sell an old white guy who is flying a 30-year-old airplane on the idea that he needs to replace it. Often the proposed replacement is with the identical model. The Beechcraft Bonanza was introduced in 1947 and is still in production today. The Cessna 172 was introduced in 1956 and will likely celebrate its 60th anniversary with no significant airframe changes.
ICON, by contrast, brought an assortment of trim multi-racial LA-styled young men and women to Oshkosh. The founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins was straight out of Central Casting for "square-jawed business executive who used to be a fighter pilot". He stood up and gave a talk reminiscent of Tom Cruise's motivational speeches in the movie Magnolia. The booth was thronged at all hours of the show. ICON intends to market the A5 at boat shows and other venues where toy-loving semi-rich people hang out. Currently, therefore, ICON is probably the only company with a reasonable chance of expanding the market rather than simply taking share away from another manufacturer.
