Mike Jacober, President of Arctic Sparrow

Mike Jacober, one of the busiest (if not the busiest) ultralight flight instructors in the country, is a huge advocate of small aircraft.

Not only are they his favorite pastime -- since he lives in Alaska, they're his primary means of transportation, for trips of more than a mile or so.

He is the importer of the Antares trike, and a major Flightstar dealer; and he has long advocated the utilitarian aspects of very light aircraft.

Mike is at the front edge of the training wave.

He described his facility, at Birchwood Airport (BCV), in "suburban Anchorage," Alaska: "It's a 'Part 103 flight school,'" he said. "We're teaching mostly in trikes, and also training in a Challenger. We're planning on bringing in a Flightstar, too, for our new instructor -- it's a good little airplane."

He knows what it takes to get someone interested -- and to keep him interested: "I've been an ultralight pilot since early 1970s, when I brought a hang glider to Alaska, from southern California. I've seen many changes -- I go to all the big airshows, every year.

My job was to get that information, and bring it back to Alaska.

With a state that's half the size of the rest of the country -- with 258 state airports, that's a big job. People come from all over the state to my school in Birchwood, to learn to fly ultralights."

They're fun, but they're not just toys.

"Ultralights are used for a lot of things in Alaska," Jacober reminded us.

"Of course, 2-place ultralights are very capable aircraft -- I've flown my [Rotax] 503-powered [Antares] trike over the summit of Mt. McKinley! A 2-place," he repeated, "is a very capable aircraft."

What are they good for, in this modern world?

"People would like to be able to use them where the Super Cub used to be used -- but who can afford another mortgage? Super Cubs have gotten really expensive! They're now old enough that the remanufacturers really cherish those data plates."

It's not just PA-18s.

If you want to get crazy, look at the quintessential bush plane: "Look at what's happened to Beavers -- there's no way you can afford $300,000; beyond that, there's really no practical way to insure the machines."

Little airplanes can do the job.

"Now that our industry has capable engines, especially from Rotax [Mike has put some 5000 failure-free hours on his venerable two-stroke Rotax 503 --ed.] small aircraft are really coming into their own. In Alaska, we have plenty of trained mechanics -- look at all the snow machines."

Isn't it too cold up there?

Mike started to answer, by ignoring the question: "I manufacture skis, so we're able to fly all year around." Then he told us, "We're in the 20s and 30s [highs] right now."

Sport Pilot makes a lot of things possible.

Flying is important for more than just fun. Mike noted, "What Sport Pilot opens to me: if your time is loggable, Sport Pilot opens up a more-reasonable-cost option to learn to fly.

[Time spent flying an ultralight currently can't be logged --ed.]

You can get the airtime, and go on from there. The State and others have wanted to train lots of the folks out in the bush -- we want them to stick around. A lot of pilots just don't stick around," he told us.

They go to Alaska, build their time, and go back to the Lower 48, and fly right-seat for a regional. Alaska wants to build a base of home-grown pilots, who not only know the territory -- they'll be likely to stay there, after they've built time. "Sport Pilot -- because the time is loggable -- it means that a lot of schools will be able to open training facilities. Trikes -- free-wing aircraft -- are great trainers. Think about it -- relative wind/angle of attack can be observed and learned. You can thermal soar, ridge soar. Many of my pilots have really learned to fly -- flying out in the breeze is a great way to learn to fly -- like when the J-3s used to fly with the door open."

He's not worried about competition -- he wants more pilots in the air.

"Sport Pilot will allow a high school, for instance, to afford to offer pilot training. The machines can be stored easily -- it makes flying so much more accessible to people of modest means.

Since the time is loggable, it opens that world of aviation back up again. It's out in the open; it's kinda free -- people like that!" 

Storage space in Alaska is expensive and rare. Tiny aircraft really cut down on the storage problem.

"You can store four times as many in a hangar -- in my 50x40 foot hangar, I have 13 or 14 ultralights set up, and probably that many more broken down, stored in that hangar. We can fold the wings right on the trike, and the wind, the UV, won't get them.

We recently spent 7 days on Mt. McKinley.

At nights, there were 40~50mph winds.

We have a way to keep the trikes safe in that kind of wind."

They're easier to protect, when you can fold them up!

Practical and smart...

"The National Park Service, for instance, has a fleet of very-expensive airplanes (Super Cubs, 172s, 185s), that are used for all kinds of flying," Mike told us. For some things, they're ideal; for other missions, they represent overkill.

"My trikes could, under Sport Pilot, be used for all kinds of these things. You build a little airplane that doesn't want to stall... Sport Pilot will allow a 'certified' trike, for about $15,000. That's a fourth of a Super Cub -- and they can make a 180-degree turn in a wingspan." Mike supports powered parachutes, too. Mike Gish, who set all kinds of altitude records in Y2K, used Jacober's in-flight mixture control on his PPC. "If there's one thing PPCs, for instance, don't like to do, it's fly in a straight line. It's hard sometimes for the older pilots to accept that."

That makes them perfect for a lot of missions, like canyon flying, for instance.

"With Sport Pilot, we'll all be able to get from here to there -- airplanes are so much better than cars, so much of the time."

If you can breathe, you can fly. Well, almost...

"With Sport Pilot's medical requirements, some of our most-capable pilots will again be able to get into the air. Pilots won't forego needed treatments, just because they're afraid of triggering something that might lose their medicals for them." The lack of an official pilot's medical will actually enhance many pilots' health, for those reasons, Mike thinks.

Don't forget the hardware.

[Antares inventor] "Sergei and I will both be coming down for the convention in two and a half weeks. We're bringing a glider-trike kit. Sergei has put together a manual that is exquisite, on how to put this airplane together. This is a high-performance machine, that requires a correct and complete manual. We've got it now, and it's going to drop right into Sport Pilot." Mike can't wait. He also likes "airplane-like" tiny aircraft: "The Flightstar was my choice from the other end of the spectrum," he said. "With a two-place -- now you can carry your survival gear -- you have the capability to carry what you need. It's some much safer, giving us the capability to carry what we need."

Sport Pilot is just what the sport needs.

Mike is visibly stoked on the idea. "Assuming there's no major changes, I plan to let the people of my state know they have a new opportunity to fly. I think that, because the planes will have registration numbers, and pilots will have licenses, the airports will have to respect this. [Occasionally, Mike sees some airports try to ban ultralighters --ed.]

We'll all know just what the rules and regulations will be. As a practical matter, this will force people to learn and respect the rules.

Those 'marginal' pilots ['rogue ultralighters'] will have to join the club."

What's good about it: "People will know this new opportunity exists: they don't have to be a BFI to take their wives fishing. You will be able to go hunting, or even camping. You can't do that today, because that's not 'flight instruction.' Sport Pilot will open up a whole new world of opportunity to fun flying, in a more-capable aircraft."

Mike likes it.

FMI: www.arcticsparrow.com