AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022 - 46

BRIEFING
PEOPLE /
Darrin Jacobs
For the love of an airplane
BY SHEILA HARRIS
" Then I moved to Cassville with my
wife and two kids, who were young at
the time. I opted to stay on the ground
to raise them. "
However, Jacobs did agree to meet
Doug Rand at nearby Table Rock Airport.
" Wouldn't you know, he met me in a
Cessna 172, " Jacobs said. " It's the airplane
I'd racked up most of my flight hours in
at Air Plains Services. When I started to
climb into the co-pilot's seat, Doug told
me, 'No! You're flying.' I immediately protested
and said, 'It's been too long!' "
" Doug wouldn't take no for an answer,
though, " Jacobs said. " I took off and we
flew to the Cassville Airport. When I
landed, that's when the adrenaline got to
me. It's a feeling I hadn't had in 20 years.
I loved it! "
After flying touch-and-goes at the airT
HE PA ST CAME CALL I NG for Darrin
Jacobs five years ago, when a friend from
Wichita showed up in his office at Les
Jacobs Ford, in Cassville, Missouri, where
Jacobs is the general manager.
" Hi, Darrin! I'm going to be your
new neighbor, " Doug Rand, a retiree
from Boeing, told Jacobs. Not long after
he relocated to his new home near Table
Rock Lake, Rand contacted Jacobs and
asked him if he'd like to go flying. The
invitation wasn't a surprise to Jacobs.
However, it did raise memories he
thought were long buried.
" I gave up flying, cold turkey, when I
moved to Cassville in 1997 to help my dad
run his Ford dealership, " Jacobs said. He
put a lifetime of aviation behind him with
that move.
While Jacobs was growing up in Alva,
Oklahoma, his father, Les Jacobs, owned
a Taylorcraft, and the pair spent much
time in the air and in airports. Later,
46
AOPA PILOT / December 2022
while attending college in Wichita, the
younger Jacobs worked nights in an FBO
until he was offered an apprenticeship as
a mechanic.
" That's where I fell in love with J-3
Cubs, " he said. " That plane has lots of sex
appeal. " When Jacobs saw a J-3 available
to rent, he was smitten. He wanted
to learn to fly it.
" A friend gave me flight lessons, and
I ended up checking out in that J-3, then
picking up my tailwheel endorsement, "
Jacobs said. " It was a dream come true. "
Afterward, he accepted a mechanic
position with Air Plains Services, in
Wellington, Kansas, which evolved into a
sales position. While there, he sold engine
conversions on Cessnas. Every engine
upgrade required that the airplane be
flown for four hours afterward to test its
performance.
" I jumped from 50 hours to 2,500
flight hours in no time, " said Jacobs.
port in Aurora, Missouri, Jacobs said he
could barely contain his excitement.
" I looked at Doug, that day, and saw
the devil, " Jacobs said. " He knew what he
was doing when he took me up in a Cessna
172. He knew what would happen. Sure
enough! I was ready to fly again. My kids
were grown, and the time seemed right. "
Jacobs bought an American Champion
7EC taildragger that had long ago been
converted from a 7FC " Tri-Champ. "
Sporting an April green coat, Ethel (as he
called the airplane, after a previous female
owner) put a fresh spring in his step.
" She reminded me of the 7AC Aeronca
Champ we flew for public events when
I worked at Air Plains Services, " Jacobs
said. " I loved that airplane. "
Jacobs loves Ethel, too. Aircraft and
owner have logged some 200 hours of
incomparable flight time together over
the glittering lakes and stunning Ozark
terrain of northern Arkansas and far
southern Missouri. Sheila Harris, a freelance
writer, lives in southwest Missouri.
SHEILA HARRIS
AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - December 2022
