Kirk Hawkins
Founder and CEO, Icon Aircraft
Kirk Hawkins is founder and CEO of Icon Aircraft, a startup conceived at Stanford University to build a new line of consumer-focused sport aircraft. Hawkins and his team (including Freeboard inventor Steen Strand) developed Icon's business model, strategy and product line to take advantage of the FAA's 2004 Light Sport Aircraft and Sport Pilot regulations. In the old days, you could legally fly anything you could build yourself, on the theory that if you built it yourself you would understand the risks. Thus many light sport aircraft were sold as kits to avoid the onerous training requirements of pre-assembled aircraft. That changed in 2004, when the new regulations significantly lowered training requirements for both mechanics and pilots on lightweight aircraft, which will allow those aircraft to reach a much broader market.
Located in Los Angeles, Icon closed its first round of angel (including Esther Dyson) and institutional financing in June 2006 and is planning to launch to the press in June, with a public unveiling of the prototype at Oshkosh.
Before starting Icon, Hawkins flew F-16's in the US Air Force, including two tours in Iraq, and also flew 757's for American Airlines. He is a graduate of Stanford Business School and has been involved in aviation and aerospace engineering most of his life. He earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Clemson University, and then worked as director of engineering at Task Industries, an aerospace contractor for Pratt & Whitney. He returned for his M.S. in engineering from Stanford University, specializing in manufacturing and product design.
Hawkins has been an avid sports and recreational flying enthusiast for 25 years, has built and flown numerous ultralight and experimental aircraft, and has logged nearly 1000 skydives. He is an active snowboarder, water-skier and scuba diver. And he has been a devoted member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America for more than 10 years, reflecting his gratitude to a mentor of his own.
