Antares USA Archives - ByDanJohnson.com

Antares USA

Phone: (907) 688-7001

Chugiak, AK 99567 - USA

Antares 582

By Dan Johnson || March 16, 2004 4 Comments

Antares qualifies as the first 51%-rule trike kit. These days, hangar talk in the sport flying community seems to be focused on the FAA’s not-yet-final sport pilot rule [we have labeled it SportPlanes™—Ed]. If you are thinking of building a new airplane, you will want to know the rules that may affect your use of it. As we wait a year or two for SportPlanes™ to prove its worth to the flying crowd, some things remain as they were. Aviation’s simplest rule defining aircraft and pilots, FAR Part 103 (ultralights) will not change. In presentation sessions, FAA officials worked to convince enthusiasts that the agency has no plans to alter this rule. Therefore, you may still fly one of the single-seat ultralights that qualify. Long Live 51% For many KITPLANES® readers, a primary interest is the amateur-built regulation commonly referred to as the 51% rule. As the magazine’s annual December-through-February three-part directory shows, pilots are fortunate to have hundreds of choices among attractive aircraft of every description. The FAA has confirmed that no change to the amateur-built rule is planned; the thousands of kits under construction and the 20,000 completed homebuilts will be unaffected. New to the Ranks In recent months, another name was added to the list of aircraft that can fly under the amateur-built concept. With international roots, an Anchorage Alaska-based venture has produced another 51%-rule kit for your consideration. The Antares represents the first trike ultralight to find FAA approval under the amateur-built regulation. “Why a trike kit?” you ask. “Aren’t they ultralight vehicles?” Under the SportPlanes™ proposal, two-place ultralights would be phased out as trainers over a three-year window after the rule becomes law. What does this mean, and why is the Antares important? Full Citizen Under the exemption to Part 103, two-place ultralights may be operated without an FAA license if use is limited to instruction. Years ago, the FAA realized that regular flight instructors (CFIs) using Cessna 150s wouldn’t be able to provide relevant instruction to those wanting to fly weight-shift ultralights. Therefore, the exemption was created. It has worked well. Accidents have been relatively few, comparable to instruction in other aircraft. But the exemption to Part 103 hasn’t addressed all needs. Pilots wanting to fly a trike ultralight other than for instruction have had few choices. Trikes are usually delivered fully built (or as simple kits that can’t qualify for the 51% rule), so amateur-built status can’t be used. And pilots who don’t want to give a lesson every time they fly aren’t permitted to use the Part 103 exemption. Now, thanks to Antares LLC and its partner, Arctic Sparrow Aircraft, you can build a trike under the 51% rule and fly it with your FAA pilot’s license. This means that you can be afforded first-class citizenship among aircraft. You can carry a non-student passenger. You can land at any airport. You can fly over populations (within Part 91 rules). Insurance is available, and all of this is because your Antares kitbuilt aircraft is not an ultralight. Antares and Arctic Sparrow are operated by Sergey Zozulya (so-ZOO-lee-ah) and longtime trike leader Mike Jacober. These two men, with assistance from several others, have invested to remake Antares trike models so they can pass FAA’s multi-page test of the 51% eligibility. Now Antares offers its trike kit with a selection of Aeros wings for different performance and handling. The partners observe that Antares “is the only flex-wing trike on the FAA 51% homebuilt kit list.” Motivated Businessmen Zozulya comes from Ukraine. He once flew thousands of miles from Russia to Alaska over the Bering Strait—a flight many wouldn’t try in a certified twin-engine airplane, much less an open-cockpit, two-stroke-powered ultralight. Once he got to Alaska, Zozulya linked up with Mike Jacober, and the two have established a solid business relationship. Jacober is another adventurous pilot. By flying on oxygen over the soaring peaks of Mt. McKinley at an altitude of 20,500 feet in May 1993, Jacober went on record as the first to fly over America’s tallest mountain in an ultralight, the Antares MA-31. The top-of-the-line MA-33M that I’ve flown for a pilot report uses a 64-hp Rotax 582 with dual carburetors and dual ignition mated to a two-, three- or six-blade propeller. Fitted with the Stranger II wing built in Kiev, Ukraine, Antares handles well and can achieve a 60-mph cruise speed. Stalls are mild. In flight or taxiing on rough ground, Antares feels solidly built and up to the rigors of bush-type flying. Build a Kit? The Antares kit includes the builder’s choice of the Aeros Still, Stranger II, Stranger IIM, or Stream wing; trike; wheelpants; cockpit fairing; 10-gallon fuel tank; and a full airframe kit with all aircraft-grade hardware and lots of titanium. Builders will not need to sew the wing—an effort requiring great skill—although they will build spars and shape the tubing wingribs. Antares trikes feature dual controls, dual foot throttles, titanium front steering forks, aluminum wheels, a disk brake, and a stout-looking spring composite main landing gear. All tubing is powder coated. With its triangular engineering, distinctive fairing, and sturdy landing gear, Antares is durable and capable of flying on wheels, tundra tires, skis or floats. It also breaks down to a package that can be carried on a pickup truck easily. Today more than 250 Antares trikes are flying. Currently a number of 51%-rule Antares trike kits are adding to the total. The emergence of SportPlanes™ should help Antares by offering pilots a faster path to an FAA ticket that allows new privileges. KP FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Antares Aircraft LLC at 20748 Birchwood Spur Road, Chugiak, AK 99567; call 907/688-7001; fax 907/688-7002; e-mail antares-us@ak.net; web www.antares-us.com.

Published in Kitplanes Magazine

Seating	1 or 2
Empty weight	437 lbs.
Gross weight	990 lbs.
Wing area	158 sq. ft.
Canopy Span	34 ft.
Length	8 ft.
Height	12 ft.
Fuel Capacity	10 gallons
Max Speed	78 mph
Cruise speed	40-60 mph
Rate of climb at gross	1000 fpm
Range (powered)	200 miles + reserve

Antares MA-32 on Floats

By Dan Johnson || March 16, 2004 1 Comment

Alaska is known for its beauty, but any pilot is warmed by a scene with floatplanes in the foreground.

Antares has begun selling a float system that works well on a number of trikes. Two-place operations on floats needed only 150 feet of water run.

Antares USA director Sergey Zozulya prepares to launch Mike Jacober and passenger Gregg Ellsworth. Note the oar attached to the spray shield (which protects the prop from water damage).

When you say the words Alaska and ultralights together, Mike Jacober is the name most will remember. Jacober almost single handedly built the ultralight market in the far northern state.

A Trip to Alaska Unearthed a Hotbed of Ultralight Activity. Alaska's facts are amazing. Most everyone knows that the sun stays up incredibly late-in the northern oil fields of Prudhoe Bay it doesn't set for three months! But did you also know the daily tidal change amounts to a whopping 38 feet? More on point for an aviation magazine, Alaska boasts the highest concentration of pilots anywhere in the U.S. and probably the world. While the lower 48 states contain about one pilot in 500 among the general population, Alaska has one in 47. Even more astonishing is airplane ownership. One out of every 53 residents owns an airplane. In the contiguous United States, that figure is closer to one in 1400. In Alaska, nobody complains about airplane noise. No wonder-with a physical size about half of the contiguous U.S., the state has only 13 highways, three of which are gravel. If you don't fly, you don't go most places. I found Alaska even more fascinating when I discovered the robust health of the ultralight flying community in our most northern (and western) state. Alaska Airmen My BRS travel partner Gregg Ellsworth and I were in Anchorage for our first participation in the Alaska Airmen trade show May 17-18, 2003. The sixth annual show took place in the huge FedEx hangar on Alaska International Airport. The airport is a hub for several large carriers including FedEx, UPS, Northwest Airlines and several foreign flag operations. As I hiked around the airport one fine spring day, I realized that I saw more Boeing 747s taking off than I'd ever seen-even at the world's largest airports. A huge cargo liner departed every few minutes all day long, and I am not exaggerating. Well, we can either stop here for fuel en route to Asia, or we can take cargo off the plane and go nonstop," said one 747 captain. Obviously, the load is what's important, and Anchorage has the fuel these thirsty behemoths need. On the lighter side of aviation, Alaska International is also home to hundreds of floatplanes. In the winter they all morph into ski planes, so my stroll took me past dozens of ancient trucks with big booms on them (for hoisting planes while swapping skis for floats). Floatplanes and 747s are controlled by a single FAA tower with lightplanes often taking off one direction while the big Boeings go the opposite direction. On this airport, like most airports in the state, airplanes have the right of way even on car roads that traverse airport property. Any pilot has to love it. Antares Floats In this state of flight, one also finds a thriving ultralight community. Most of the work to create this group is associated with the name Mike Jacober, but another man has been making quite a presence. Sergey Zozulya is a Ukrainian who has been living here with his wife and daughter for several years. Zozulya is the brains and initiative behind the Antares trike line. His business, Antares USA, is a new entity given life after he obtained official permission from Washington for a longer stay in the U.S. With more than 300 aircraft flying worldwide, Antares has become a recognized brand in the ultralight community. The company's American presence brings this built-tough trike to Yankee pilots. One of the design's distinguishing qualities is the composite bow main landing gear leg that helps lend an uncluttered look. Another quality that sets this trike apart is the manufacturer's own floats. Designed in the Ukraine, these floats boast 10 years of development. Now the company is beginning to offer them for owners of other trike brands. One of the first to sign on was AirBorne of Australia. I had several chances to fly the Antares floats in Alaska, all on Big Lake northwest of Anchorage. The floats have been specially crafted from fiberglass and marine plywood. A hydrodynamically efficient design allows them to quickly get up on step for quick take-offs. Flown dual or solo, I found little difference in water operations. Antares floats are designed to generate reduced spray during takeoffs, landings or taxiing. A spray shield is fitted between the floats to keep pilot and passenger dry at any speed. A single rudder makes for secure water taxiing. Sturdy construction lets you beach on gravel or rocks without damaging the floats. Our floats can be mounted on any trike in minutes. They come with stainless steel, titanium and aluminum hardware for easy installation," Zozulya said. "On the AirBorne Edge trike, Antares floats can be mounted in approximately 20 minutes-and no modifications are required to the AirBorne trike itself. The front yoke bushing mounts directly to the keel tube by using existing holes. The floats are attached to the mounting brackets with rubber bushings." If the rig interests you as it did me, you can purchase the complete Antares trike, Aeros wing and Rotax 582 engine for $25,950. As floatplanes go, this is a fair bargain. Remembering Mike Jacober Zozulya found a home in Alaska ultralighting thanks to Mike Jacober. So did almost everyone else in the state. In a significant blow to Alaskan aviation, Jacober died in a training accident about two weeks after the Alaskan Airmen airshow. The Alaska ultralight community is in shock and has lost a highly energetic personality. Jacober arrived in Alaska about 30 years ago with his hang glider. Over the decades, he focused on powered ultralights and persistently pursued a flight school operation that delivers thousands of instructional hours annually. Jacober himself flew more than 700 hours of instruction in 2002, and he'd kept that pace up for years. A safety counselor to the local FAA office, Jacober was known for his infectiously positive attitude and tremendous drive. He stressed safety religiously and cared for his students and the entire flock surrounding him as though he was their father...which, in a way, he was. Alaska will deeply miss Mike Jacober as will many other light flight enthusiasts around the country. FOR MORE INFORMATION on Antares USA, contact the company at 20748 Birchwood Spur Road, Chugiak, AK 99567; call 907/350-6501; fax 907/276-0927; e-mail antares-us@ak.net; web www.antares-us.com.

Published in Kitplanes Magazine

A Trip to Alaska Unearthed a Hotbed of Ultralight Activity. Alaska’s facts are amazing. Most everyone knows that the sun stays up incredibly late-in the northern oil fields of Prudhoe Bay it doesn’t set for three months! But did you also know the daily tidal change amounts to a whopping 38 feet? More on point for an aviation magazine, Alaska boasts the highest concentration of pilots anywhere in the U.S. and probably the world. While the lower 48 states contain about one pilot in 500 among the general population, Alaska has one in 47. Even more astonishing is airplane ownership. One out of every 53 residents owns an airplane. In the contiguous United States, that figure is closer to one in 1400. In Alaska, nobody complains about airplane noise. No wonder-with a physical size about half of the contiguous U.S., the state has only 13 highways, three of which are gravel.