The flight never gets old for Mike Jacob.

How could it, really? Hovering high above Mount Rushmore National Memorial in a helicopter cockpit that he usually shares with a couple of wide-eyed paying guests.

"You get people up there who have never experienced anything like it," Jacob said. "I get a lot of handicapped or elderly people who can't really get around that well. It's really something for them."

It's also something that's set to be scrutinized by the National Park Service in an upcoming process to review and revise air tour management plans for Rushmore and other national monuments and parks.

"The purpose is to take a look at the air management around national parks, including Mount Rushmore," Memorial superintendent Gerard Baker said. "The idea is to make sure everybody is satisfied. There is concern out here and in the rest of the nation with noise pollution, with visibility and the view."

The review will come through the National Park Air Tour Management Act, a law passed by Congress in 2000. It is being pushed by people and organizations with concerns about the impact of tour planes and helicopters on the scenery, wildlife, natural and cultural resources and visitor's experience at national parks and monuments.

Baker isn't complaining about the working relationship Mount Rushmore has with Jacob, a pilot and owner of Black Hills Aerial Adventures helicopter tours. But Baker believes the review makes sense and will give all sides an opportunity to weigh in through an environmental assessment and impact statement process that will include public hearings.

"We'll have public meetings before long. People need to be a little patient," Baker said.

But he also understands that some park users have strong emotions about the need for more management of air tours, at least in some of the national parks and monuments.

"People go to national parks to get some space and find some quiet," Baker said. "I'd imagine that's pretty universal."

Jacob understands that. He also believes that the air tours he's been operating for almost 20 years - and which operated for 25 years before that under another owner - are being managed in a way that provides him a living, his guest an exceptional experience and still manages to prevent undue intrusion on a national icon.

Jacob and his pilots must respect an air-tour no-fly zone that generally follows Highway 244 and keeps the aircraft about a half-mile from the face of the sculpture.

Initially, the routes and restrictions were based on a "kind of a gentleman's agreement," Jacob said. But things became more formal in recent years and could be open to further amendment in the review.

Jacob is hoping things don't change too much.

"The routes are set up basically to provide the best view we can provide without interrupting the daily activities of the monument," Jacob said. "They've been established for so many years, and they work very well."

That's the way the Federal Aviation Administration expects them to work. The FAA works in cooperation with the NPS to oversee the flight plans of air tours at parks and monuments, and some private attractions. Those include Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial and Badlands National Park.

"The fundamental goal is the safety of the flight," said Elizabeth Isham Cory, a spokeswoman for the FAA in Chicago. "And we're concerned about noise abatement and ensuring that these natural wonders stay safe and maintain their beauty."

So far, security concerns - which have heightened since Greenpeace activists scaled Mount Rushmore last month and unfurled a huge banner alongside the four faces - haven't played a major role in regulating how close air tours can operate to Mount Rushmore, Baker said. But it's something to consider in the review process as well, he added.

Rushmore officials are upgrading on-the-ground security measures at the memorial now in response to the Greenpeace incident. How much that security upgrade will play into a new management plan for air tours is unclear.

"We haven't discussed it specifically in connection with this (air management plan)," Baker said. "But security's always a concern."

There's more in the sky to worry about than air tours, however.

"Bad guys can take a look with satellite photos, too," Baker said.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcity.com