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Who can fly the small, high-tech Icon A5 plane?

Answer: Anyone.

Just 20 hours of flight time is all it takes to be certified to fly the Icon A5 airplane solo. The single engine craft by Icon is an amphibious sport plane was designed with one simple goal in mind, to make it as easy to fly as possible.

The hull and wing design were engineered to make the plane as easy to control as possible, but the real trick comes in the streamlined and simplified design of the cockpit’s interior. The aircraft’s creators reduced the normally overwhelming number of dials, knobs and switches of a regular plane, so the A5’s interior looks much more like the inside of a car.

According to Digital Trends, the plane is has a whole army of smart design elements that make it all but fool-proof when flying. For example, it won’t go into a spiral if you stall, and the multiple flight indicators have been consolidated into one display that makes takeoff and landing much easier even on water.

Kate is a senior copy editor in Northern California. She holds a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in professional writing from the University of California, Davis.