Published July 2005

Arlington venture gives
former 'warbirds' new life

By John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor

Small, fast fighter jets based at Arlington Airport often fly over north Snohomish County and make touch-and-go passes on the airfield's long runway, but most people only see them as silhouettes soaring into the sky.

But close up, they're clearly marked as German Air Force planes that once flew over Europe on patrol for their country and flying as a part of NATO defense forces.

First built in the 1970s and priced at $7 million each, the Dornier Alpha Jets have been replaced by faster planes with newer technology. But that doesn't mean the high-performance aircraft aren't powerful enough to still serve in other air forces — or to satisfy the desires of private pilots who long for a high-powered ride in a former military "warbird."

"Basically, I started out to buy myself an airplane, then got into brokering some (retired Russian and Czech) L-29s and L-39s in the United States (for private owners). It was a hobby that's grown," Hans von der Hofen said during an interview at the offices of his company, Abbatare Inc., which is the managing body of the 124,800-square-foot Arlington Airpark. "Then I got a chance to get the German government's only export license for Alpha Jets to the United States."

Built by the Dassault-Dornier Franco-German consortium, Alpha Jets are twin-engine, subsonic military aircraft with a speed of around Mach 0.86, a service ceiling of 48,000 feet and a range of 900 miles. Serving with the air forces of Germany, France, Egypt, Cameroon, Belgium, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Thailand, Togo and the United Kingdom, the last Alpha Jet left German service in 1998.

"There were more than 4,700 of the 29s and 39s built but only 550 Alpha Jets, of which only 175 were the type of fighter-bomber versions we got," von der Hofen said. "We only had a few Alpha Jets to sell, but we're also refurbishing several of the planes for the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as training their pilots."

Both he and his company's chief pilot, Rick Millson, who previously flew with the Blue Angels, provide the flight instruction. As for the commercial market, it's quite small, he said, "since it's a powerful fighter aircraft and not everyone can fly them. In fact, that's where our flight academy comes in. We train civilian and military pilots to handle Alpha Jets, L-29s and L-39s or to improve their performance with warbirds they already fly."

Promotion for von der Hofen's flight academy, part of Abbatare Inc., is one of the highlights of his Web site, along with photos and videos of Alpha Jets flying over the Cascade mountains.

"We've had several pilots from Germany, France, Spain and parts of the United States and Canada come by to fly the plane, either just to add it to their log book or to get typed in it by taking advanced training," he said. "One student was a French airline pilot who had seen Alpha Jets fly in Europe and wanted to learn how to fly one himself. He said he couldn't do loops and rolls with the Airbus 319 he flew because having 300 people sitting behind you really limits the aerobatics you're allowed to do."

There are more than 5,600 warbirds in the country, but many of the pilots flying them don't have the experience they need to handle them fully or safely, he said, a problem he hopes his flight school will remedy.

"It takes a lot of good instruction and practice to learn the dos and don'ts of flying high-performance aircraft. We've trained 41 pilots since February 2004. We're able to train in a variety of aircraft plus air combat or formation flying. We have a wealth of aviation knowledge to share," he said.

One recent student, who bought one of von der Hofen's Alpha Jets, was General Motors' Vice President of Global Product Development Bob Lutz, who previously flew military jets and said he missed the thrill of handling high-performance aircraft. Von der Hofen also sold one of the jets to Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, whose pilot used it as a chase plane for the high-altitude flights of Space Ship One, an Allen-financed venture.

Allen also has rented two of von der Hofen's Arlington Airpark hangars to house his recently unveiled Flying Heritage Collection of meticulously restored World War I and World War II fighter planes, including a P-40, P-51 and a British Spitfire.

Among the other tenants in von der Hofen's hangars are tool shops that serve the Boeing airliner assembly plant in Everett; Morgan Aircraft Restoration, which restores and modifies warbirds as well as other aircraft; and Mike Lee's Arlington Jet Services LLC.

Von der Hofen's air park has been so successful that he's launching a major expansion this summer that will double the number of hangars in preparation for the economic growth he sees for the airport.

Today, von der Hofen's involvement in aviation has expanded greatly since the years when he would seek out a few hours of flying time amidst the pressures of building large subdivision land developments. Although his air park started as a real estate development, it has involved him even more deeply in the world of aviation.

His next venture is learning to fly a newly acquired Vietnam war workhorse, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, better known as the Huey. Beyond that, he has plans for flying another historic plane. His 1950s-vintage MiG-15 rests in his hangar a few feet from the Huey — just to ensure that he always has yet one more dream close at hand.

For more information about Abbatare Inc. or AlphaJets USA, call 360-474-1993 or go online to www.alphajetsusa.com.

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