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Registration is now open for the first ICON Owners & Pilots Association weekend getaway.



This fun fly-in will take place in Tavares, Florida (FA1)on Saturday, February 4^th and Sunday, February 5^th. Surrounded by nothing but gorgeous lakes for as far as the eye can see, Tavares is known as “America's Seaplane City"!

Taveres is located just north of Orlando. Estimated ICON A5 flying times from South Florida is 2:30 hrs, 2:00 hrs from the Panhandle, and about 1:00 hr from the Tampa area.

This fun overnight getaway will be hosted at the Key West Resort on Lake Dora (Website).



If the weather allows, we plan to land on Lake Dora and taxi up the ramp to the Tavaras Sea Plane base where staff will be on hand to assist. Thanks to the ICON's folding wings we can fit a bunch of planes in the parking area. If weather prevents a water landing, KLEE is just 5 nm away.

Look forward to a nice lunch upon arrival on Saturday followed by a mini-speaker series.

Members from our Gold Sponsor ICON Aircraft will cover several topics from training, safety and maintenance. We will also have a round-table, open discussion about other general topics.

Saturday night will be a group dinner at the Sea-Plane-themed restaurant Puddle Jumpers Lakeside Grill and Bar (Website)



The next morning we’ll make the short flight over to Lake Weir for Sunday brunch at Eaton’s Beach Sandbar and Grill (Website). We will beach the planes right outside the restaurant!



Here are the full details of the weekend.

Registration

$99.00 per person - includes lunch on Saturday, speaker series on Saturday afternoon, dinner and drinks on Saturday night and brunch on Sunday.


How to Register

Contact Mike Bremner at (714) 926 9901 / [email protected]


Arrival

Seaplane Base Tavares, FL (Website)
Overnight parking is free with any amount of fuel purchase.
P: 352-253-4267

Leesburg Airport - KLEE (Airnav) is a 5-minute away if an alternate is required.


Host Property / Accommodations

Key West Resort on Lake Dora
199 W Ruby Street Tavares, FL 32778
P: 352-508-5344

IOPA has secured a block of King-Bed rooms. All rooms face the lake. The rate is $183.15 (Includes Tax & Fees)

Mike Bremner will assist you with your room booking when you contact him to register.

AGENDA

Saturday, January 5th

12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Arrivals on the seaplane ramp at Key West Resort on Lake Dora. Buffet lunch in the meeting room at the resort.

Sponsored by:




1:00 PM to 2:00 PM

Scott Rodenback, Regional Sales Director of ICON Aircraft will give an update on the company.

2:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Training Session - Speaker (TBA)

3:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Aircraft Maintenance and Trouble Shooting Tips

5:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Drinks and dinner at Puddle Jumpers Lake Side Bar and Grill. (Website)

111 W. Ruby Way
Tavares, FL 32778
P: 352-508-5862

This fun "Seaplane Themed" restaurant is a 5-minute walk from the resort.

Sunday, January 6th

8:30 AM

Departures for Eaton's Beach Sandbar and Grill (Website)
15790 SE 134th Ave
Weirsdale, FL 32195
P: 353-259-2444

16 nm flight from Tavares

9:30 AM to 10:30 AM

Buffet Breakfast at Eaton's Beach Sandbar and Grill.

After breakfast

Departures for home.

Again, for registration, or personal assistance with any aspect of this event contact Mike Bremner 714-926-9901 / [email protected]

We'll see you there!

[Username Protected]

I was just there yesterday getting my water training

[Username Protected]

We are up to 9 registrants so far - great turnout about what we are expecting. If you are thinking about attending but have not reached out to Mike Bremner 714-926-9901 / [email protected] yet please do so asap so we can plan accordingly.

Hoping for good weather!

[Username Protected]

I look forward to meeting all of you! Cristina will not be able to join.

Michel

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I flew up to Tavares this afternoon to learn the ropes.

Approaching from the south, Tavares (FA1) sits just outside the Leesburg Delta. It is a big lake, even the narrow part was over 8000 ft long.



It have been years since I last taxied the ICON up a ramp (during my initial training at KTPF), but thanks to the width of the ramp it was easy even with a crosswind. I came in at a slight angle to the ramp (not quite enough rudder authority), dropped the gear and gave it a little bit more power the last few seconds to straighten up. I then obviously needed quite a bit of power to come up the ramp, with a line-guy directing me.

If someone else is on approaching ramp, wait outside the docks until it is your turn.





Once up on land, taxi as directed. We may need to fold the wings due to space constraints, I will assist if needed (can done one side in about 20 seconds now!).




If the winds are too strong for a safe water landing, KLEE is right next door. Just don't forget to call tower before entering the Delta. Then Uber to the hotel.



The hotel is a bit utilitarian - don't expect Ritz treatment (or even Marriott) - but it is right by the seaplane base and the comradery will be excellent!

Looking forward to meeting everyone next weekend!

[Username Protected]

We will be there as well!

I flew up to Tavares this afternoon to learn the ropes.

Approaching from the south, Tavares (FA1) sits just outside the Leesburg Delta. It is a big lake, even the narrow part was over 8000 ft long.



It have been years since I last taxied the ICON up a ramp (during my initial training at KTPF), but thanks to the width of the ramp it was easy even with a crosswind. I came in at a slight angle to the ramp (not quite enough rudder authority), dropped the gear and gave it a little bit more power the last few seconds to straighten up. I then obviously needed quite a bit of power to come up the ramp, with a line-guy directing me.

If someone else is on approaching ramp, wait outside the docks until it is your turn.





Once up on land, taxi as directed. We may need to fold the wings due to space constraints, I will assist if needed (can done one side in about 20 seconds now!).




If the winds are too strong for a safe water landing, KLEE is right next door. Just don't forget to call tower before entering the Delta. Then Uber to the hotel.



The hotel is a bit utilitarian - don't expect Ritz treatment (or even Marriott) - but it is right by the seaplane base and the comradery will be excellent!

Looking forward to meeting everyone next weekend!

[Username Protected]

Hey Everyone,


Things are looking good for the fly-in this Saturday and Sunday. We have 9 owner registered !!


Here is the final speaker schedule for Saturday afternoon.


11:00 AM to Noon - Arrivals



12:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Sandwiches and Salad lunch in the meeting room in the Key West Resort by Lake Dora.


1:00 PM to 1:30 PM

Scott Rodenbeck, Regional Sales Director - ICON Aircraft

Topic: Advocacy



1:45 PM to 2:15 PM

Andy Jackson, Flight Training Network

Topic: Flight Training.



2:30 PM to 3:00 PM

Nate Marler, General Manager, Exec Aero, LLC

Topic: Maintenance and Trouble Shooting Tips


3:45 PM to 4:15 PM

Joe Ryan, Wings Insurance

Topic: State of the insurance landscape as it pertains to the ICON.


4:30 PM to 5:00 PM

ICON Owner Round Table Discussion - Moderated by Marcus Adolfsson.


5:30 PM to 8:30 PM

Drinks and dinner and Puddle Jumpers


You will receive and name badge and full agenda upon arrival.


Please contact me directly if you require assistance with any aspect of the conference. 714-926-9901 / [email protected]


We'll see you there.

Mike

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I hate to bring this up and Florida weather sure does change - but is there any thought about a new date based on what they are predicting now : 75% chance rain and 20-30mph winds? Doesn’t seem like an Icon friendly weekend :-( Just wondering…

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I am flying commercial... Just going to focus on meeting the owners.

[Username Protected]

I hate to bring this up and Florida weather sure does change - but is there any thought about a new date based on what they are predicting now : 75% chance rain and 20-30mph winds? Doesn’t seem like an Icon friendly weekend :-( Just wondering…

Richard we are keeping an eye on it. Friday looks bad, but arrival time on Saturday looks VFR (4% rain) except for the wind (14-24 knots). Sunday shows VFR and 5 knots.

If the winds don't favor water landings on Saturday, we will use KLEE as the base. Winds look down the runway. We have spoken to FBO about ensuring tie-down spots or hangar space.

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Sunair Aviation at Leesburg International - KLEE, has overnight tie down space for $15 per night.

They also have a hangar for transient aircraft but, they will not know how much room they will have until Saturday morning.

Hangar space for an ICON is $93 per night.

You can contact them at 352-787-2211.

I have told them to expect 6 to 10 ICON aircraft potentially arriving that day.

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My wife and I will join everyone at Puddle Jumpers.

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Thanks Marcus. I’m doing same. I think the weather is better up there than down here in PMP area. If it’s not great I’ll come up in the Cirrus but unless serious storms I’ll be there one way or other. See you soon

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The first TAF for tomorrow is out, 040 @ 13 kts 5,000 broken. So right down the runway if you go into KLEE and on the lower side the wind forecast.

The MOS for Sunday is less promising, MVFR broken 1,500 ft 7-11 kts, ceiling improving to 2,500 ft by 1pm with chance of rain. We will make alternative breakfast plans if it is not suitable to fly to Eaton's Beach Sandbar and Grill.

[Username Protected]

I will be flying in but the windows will be installed. The wind being north north east is fine for that ramp. If it was out of the south I would go to Leesburg

[Username Protected]

Hey Rob,

We'll be at Puddle Jumpers at 530p for cocktails and dinner on the second floor.

See you then.

Mike

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I just returned home from our first in-person IOPA meeting. We had 12 owners attend, four representatives from ICON, and three vendors/speakers. Thank you all that took time out of your busy schedules to attend!

The excitement started Saturday morning 20 miles out from Tavares, where I spotted three fellow BA "Bad Ass" planes on ADS-B enroute to sea plane base.



The weather was VFR although a bit windy. Minor waves on the lake but the wind was right down the ramp. We had six planes at the sea plane base and a few over at KLEE.



After a nice lunch, Scott Rodenbeck from ICON sales kicked off the day with a status update on ICON.



Andy Jackson then gave an overview of the ICON Flight Ops team, reviewed learnings from recent accident/incidents, and held an open Q&A.



Nate Marler, owner of the ICON authorized Service Center Exec Aero at KORL, updated the attendees about the reality of running a maintenance shop and the importance of the owners to follow Icon maintenance standards.



Joe Ryan from Wings Insurance went over the current very hard insurance market for ICON aircraft. Currently only three out of almost 30 insurance companies are willing to quote. Joe and IOPA will work jointly on educating insurance underwrites about the aircraft, such as explaining that Gear Up landings cause minimal damage and the likely hood of a propstrike/engine teardown is almost nill.



After the sessions wrapped, we took a group picture on the ramp.





Dinner was served at Puddle Jumpers, overlooking the sea plane ramp.



Sunday morning we woke up to a 200 ft overcast. Great conversations while we waited on the ceilings to lift.



Quick flight over to Lake Weir and the Eaton's Beach Sandbar & Grill restaurant.



Four ICON's beached at the restaurant (two owners drove).



We had some great conversations regarding the next steps for IOPA, will start a separate thread on that next week.

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What a great recap! I am so mad I wasn’t able to make it. Literally got out of the Cirrus moments before firing it up with winds at 25-35kts and dark clouds at 2,000. Was truly looking forward so hope next time weather cooperates.

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This was great , especially for meeting other Icon owners, I picked up a lot of good info. Thanks for putting this together.

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It was great to meet many of you and provide some transparency on the Insurance industry. Thanks for having me and look forward to seeing more of you at Sun N Fun, Oshkosh, etc.

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Outstanding weekend!!!! Thanks to Marcus and Michael for putting it all together. For those that missed it, don't miss the next one, well worth the trip and time. Heck, we had one (Paul) who flew in from Seattle! Such an interesting group of folks, all united by our passion for the A5.

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It was great to meet all of you last Saturday. I look forward to meeting all of you at one of our A5 swarms. The Tennessee River is waiting for any of you who wants to discover these beautiful TN Hills. Food is pretty awesome as well! Let me know if you ever need to stop for fuel in Eastern TN on your way to and from Florida. KMNV is an awesome FBO. See you at the next event!

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Paul Newman is next to me

Jay's Son is Grant Curtis

Charlie's last name is Bateham

Ryan Samples

Bob and Sandy Denton

Dan Nickens at the end

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Thanks! I will update and re-post