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Dear Icon A5 Enthusiasts,
The Aria Defrost System was born from a deep love for the Icon A5 and a commitment to constant improvement. My name is Andrew Chapin, and I had the privilege of visiting the Icon A5 factory in Vacaville, California, in the Summer of 2022. I’ve flown this remarkable aircraft, owned by a family friend, numerous times, always admiring its smooth performance and stylish aesthetics. After nearly a year of enjoying the Icon A5, the owner shared a concerning incident with me. During a lake takeoff, he and his copilot were nearly blinded by sudden condensation buildup. As an engineering student, I designed a simple yet effective solution: the Aria Defrost System. Utilizing advanced 3D printing technology, Aria seamlessly integrates into the Icon’s design, ensuring both functionality and elegance. The Icon A5 is a fantastic aircraft, and its pilots deserve the best experience possible.
Our motto reflects this dedication:
Sport. Safety. By Design.
Experience the perfect blend of innovation and performance with the Aria Defrost System.
Best regards,
Andrew Chapin
Founder of Aria
Website Link:
https://www.ariasystems.shop/

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I may be wrong but on the first 100 or so Icons, there is no ducting that directs the heater air to the ducts. The ducts are piped strictly to the outside air.

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I may be wrong but on the first 100 or so Icons, there is no ducting that directs the heater air to the ducts. The ducts are piped strictly to the outside air.

This is true on all aircraft AFAIK. Serial number 139 and older atleast.

that said some air blowing at the wind screen does help in the situation he is trying to solve it just take moving the air. In the R&D shop many years ago we did prototype an attachment to the heater and put a hole through the middle instrument panel top and 3D printed vent to direct the air. We were attempting to keep it as clean a look as possible so as not to distract from aesthetics or add another device or look like an after thought. It needed more refinement and more testing. We were also trying to solve for many more than just this situation. It just never came to complete fruition as there was a lot of competing priorities and this one needed more refinement.

In a different situation than what the above device is used for, I’ve had the wind screen fog due to my warm breath in a freezing cockpit. The fog subsequently froze up to where I could scrape the frost off the inside of the canopy with a credit card during high altitude test flights in the winter. The heater works well to avoid this by keeping the cockpit warm enough. The heater in the test aircraft was removed for various reasons. As soon as I descended to warm altitudes it quickly resolved.

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Hey Bret,

Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights. It’s encouraging to hear that you’ve encountered similar challenges. The Aria system was designed with the exact same goals in mind, namely to seamlessly integrate with the Icon’s design aesthetic while creating the most efficient use of vent air. In addition to directing air onto the windshield, Aria also allows airflow to the side windows which is crucial for full, safe visibility.


While descending to warmer altitudes can mitigate fogging, the versatility to maintain high-altitude flights is crucial for many Icon owners. The Aria Defrost System addresses this need and provides a valuable solution.


-Andrew Chapin

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Just an FYI as it’s already been said the heater isn’t connected to the air ducts. It just is a fan connected to a radiator between the two rudder pedal groups. It uses bleed coolant from the engine to warm the cockpit.

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That is correct, the defrost system is not meant to heat or cool the aircraft. It is simply redirecting the available outside air from the vents to the windshield to improve visibility when flying in sub-optimal weather conditions.
-Andrew Chapin

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Appreciate your effort Andrew. Nice to see thinking minds with ideas to enhance the A5. I personally haven’t experienced the foggy windscreen, for the short time I’ve owned the plane.

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Ted

I appreciate the compliment. I understand you might not have encountered this issue yet, but the key word here is "yet." As Bret mentioned above, Icon was aware of this problem and addressed it in a similar fashion. Unfortunately bankruptcies can delay updates to systems like the defrost mechanism, even when they are quite important. I encourage you to visit the Aria website and our Instagram page for detailed information about our products. Should you have any questions about the defrost system, please feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] or through this chat. The conditions you fly in may vary, but based on feedback from other Icon A5 owners, when the weather is unfavorable, the resulting visibility issues can be quite dramatic and even frightening, particularly during take-off and landings.

Here is our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aria_systems/

-Andrew Chapin

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Hey Andrew,

I checked out your website. I’m only seeing this product. Are you planning on producing more products for the Icon?

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Appreciate your effort Andrew. Nice to see thinking minds with ideas to enhance the A5. I personally haven’t experienced the foggy windscreen, for the short time I’ve owned the plane.

Oh, I have and on a number of occasions! Fall through spring especially, I look at the dewpoint spread. We're taught to be aware of when it gets close to 2 degrees, but in an amphib and water opps, I start to take precautionary steps when its at 5 degrees. Precautionary being either cancelling a flight or eliminating any water opps. And if you see your instrument faces start to fog, especially the engine indicators, know that your windscreen is not far behind.

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Ted,
That is correct, I currently only produce the Aria Defrost System but I would be more than happy to field requests for other improvements to the Icon from owners like yourself. If you think of anything that bugs you about the plane shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll see what can be done.
-Andrew Chapin

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This was sent to me by an Aria client who recieved one of the very early Aria systems without a side defrost feature. The difference is stark, and without it, he was in serious danger of flying by instruments alone.

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So this is really an effective mod for serial numbers 139 and below?

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Since we older aircraft have 0 forced air in the top vents (cold or hot), It means there will be NO defrosting until the aircraft has forward velocity. I have been stuck on the ground in Eastern TN on 4 separate occasions where my canopy was completely frosted over. Until the sun hit the canopy my only other choice was taking off blind and hope the canopy would clear… I chose NOT to do that. If I can help inspire Andrew Chapin, I would offer a 3D printed Airbox after the the radiator and fan for us early birds that would force the blown air into the vents and therefore through his 180 degree pipes (both hot and cold).

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Michel,
I hear what you are saying about the forced air part, but from my experience and that Aria customer the picture was taken of, the air that is generated when taxiing is enough for suitable visibility. The issue with going from the radiator to the vent is that it would require an intense disassembly of the dashboard of the plane which I was not confident in doing, nor would many owners be.
-Andrew Chapin

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I think all A5's unless Erich you have defrost on ASN200?

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Just the heater in 200…??????

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What I was getting at is i can only confirm that serial 139 and below don’t have a defrost. You are now confirming that 200 doesn’t have one either so it’s safe to assume non of them have it.

serial 1 through 200+ have the same ventilation system fresh air through the vents and the heater/radiator is a fan at your feet but is not connected to the fresh air vents.

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I will look tomorrow again to see if heater knob label says heater/defrost

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Bret,

I’m assuming that when you said serial 139 and older, you meant that you left the company when 139 was built, so that’s as much as you can confirm?

it sounded like you knew that after 139, the system was different.

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Here is what I was referring-to. I do not have that box.
My serial number (00024) does not have this box against the radiator.

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Bret,

I’m assuming that when you said serial 139 and older, you meant that you left the company when 139 was built, so that’s as much as you can confirm?

it sounded like you knew that after 139, the system was different.

Yes, I left the company before the 139 flew, but was in process.

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Yep, I’ve got nothing labeled with defrost, just Heater knob.

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I've poured over technical records for all of the Icon serial numbers throughout the years, and none of them have a defrost system. This is why I created the Aria Defrost, it is a significant issue that now has a simple solution. When you purchase an Aria Defrost you will immediately notice the improvement.
https://www.ariasystems.shop/