Hotrod 180,

Yes, I sprayed Paraquat. It was a knock down herbicide used as a harvest aid defoliant on cotton and non food crops. It was one of the very few poison herbicides, but was very dangerous. 1/4 spoon full was enough to kill a man.

What made Paraquat, now labeled as Gramoxone, useful in no till planting was that the ground neutralized it. You could plant the day Paraquat was applied or soon after.

The only pot that would be able to be smoked after being sprayed with Paraquat would have been made from dead leaves on the ground. The killing and drying effect was immediate. If you had a leaking nozzle, they could follow the dead streak all the way back to the hangar.

Contact

Skalywag wrote:
... y'all putting out malathion?

...Flap Tractor

No Malathion...using mostly mosquito specific chemicals like Altosid, BTI, and Naturalar. Some of them in really low rates/low gallonage (like 2oz. of chemical in 22oz. of water) per acre since we're using micronair's and spraying over standing water areas...don't need to cover foliage, so lower rates work fine. We'll spread some dry material over the rice so it falls down through the canopy into the water, or dry pasture pre-irrigation.

I assume "flap tractor" refers to the need to use flaps for the turns in air tractors?!?!

contactflying wrote:Bart,

Wind management for the turns is the same in airplane as helicopter. Work from the downwind border....

Let us know if you have specific questions. Keep the sticky side down.

Jim

Thanks Contact...I was mostly referring to the mechanics of how best to control the airplane for the fastest turn. I realize it varies airplane to airplane, load size, etc. While this particular job pays by the tach hour and I'm getting paid in the turns , I still like to try and get the most out of the airplanes and learn something each turn...I've done 5 seasons helicopter spraying and still haven't made the perfect ag turn Airplane Ag has been my latest challenge and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!

Interesting that y'all brought this up; Paraquat spooks me, turned down some big jobs putting it out this week. Not in any way saying it can't be handled properly, just that I don't have the experience to do the job 100% right/safe. Punt...and no it wasn't spraying the devil weed [emoji38]


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Not so bad to spray it. It doesn't gas you. Dangerous to mix, load, or crash with. It is one, however, I have never crashed with.

Its about dusting so I will share: This is probably the slowest year ever in western Canada. Many planes haven't even left the hanger. There has been no rain so no crop so no fungicide or money for it. Of the little that has been done there are three planes down; two ATs and a pawnee. The pawnee guy walked away, one AT pilot serious and one dead. This is after last year which was one of the best ever for acres and only one death. shit happens! My days are long past but it was fabulous.

dogone wrote:Its about dusting so I will share: This is probably the slowest year ever in western Canada. Many planes haven't even left the hanger. There has been no rain so no crop so no fungicide or money for it. Of the little that has been done there are three planes down; two ATs and a pawnee. The pawnee guy walked away, one AT pilot serious and one dead. This is after last year which was one of the best ever for acres and only one death. shit happens! My days are long past but it was fabulous.

Ya it's a bit slow out here. There is a few firing up again desicating wheat and spraying bugs in canola.
Unfortunately, the late AT driver wasn't spraying, which makes it much harder to deal with. But it's a good reminder to remember your family is waiting at home, so fly that way...

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Hi Contact,

I didn't offer any advice to Bart because;
A) I think the Cessna and Brave fly (turn) quite differently, and didn't want to interject any confusion, and;
B) I think Bart was being wayyy modest and humble. I am sure he turns the airplane quite spectacularly, and is just looking for ways to do even better, in other words he's wayyy ahead of anythingI'd have to offer... And;
lastly, a older wiser aggie once said to me, turning an ag plane is like walking.... no two people do it the same, what works best for me might slow you down, what works best for you might wreck me..... you just have to figure out what works best for you.

Besides, had I replied to Bart, it would have just been a seriously admonishing post... I mean... who does that? Who climbs out of an air-conditioned turbine fling wing only to saddle up in a 'flying shame' of an avgas burning recip?

Sorry Bart..... I really am jealous of your heli job and ya... the little ones got soul too, specially that 400

bart wrote:

Skalywag wrote:...Flap Tractor

I assume "flap tractor" refers to the need to use flaps for the turns in air tractors?!?!

While they can be turned without flap use, when I lose a flap motor in an AT, my GPS log (in the turns) looks hilarious, and the airplane stays on the ground after that load... Off the top of my head, I only know one guy who turns AT's really well without flaps... but he has been flying ag longer than I've been alive. He turns everything without flaps, Me? I turn everything (that has them) with flaps.


Our season?? I just got back from Marty's neck of the woods. One of my shortest stints there ever. Very dry... Still, I did far better than had I stayed home, and I was coming off a spectacular winter / fall produce season... so no complaints. But the produce is being sowed, or transplanted as I write... right about now we all get that feeling you had when you were a kid on a roller coaster and it was click clicking it's way up the hill to the big uncontrollable fall out

Gramoxone (paraquat/salt)... Yep frequent flyer here this time of the year. Like Contact suggested, for us it is a defoliant on cotton. Don't cheat on it, because not only will it tell on you, it will do it with astonishingly quick speed and accuracy. We defoliate cotton about the same time produce is going in, which also agrees with Contacts assessment.

We also lost one very amazing young man this year. He was killed in a training accident. He probably had 100,000 years of flying experience surrounding him. He did excellent through the ratings, and could fly the wings off a Christian eagle like people with 10 fold his hours, but in the end the insurance companies wouldn't let him make the jump into the big turbines without the school. Sadly it was a wire vs Citabria incident that got him. I purposely did not venture into the recent 'wire' thread because when I work in around under and over wires, it is in an airplane made to take that hit, with training made to answer the call when it goes south... IMNSHO if you fool with wires in a light GA airplane that simply does not carry the mass to take the hit.... well,... you are on a fools errand... a miscalculation here will not be like nosing over on a beach because you misjudged your water skiing... simple physic's says it will kill you when it happens... admonishing rant over

Take care, Rob

Rob,

I value your opinion as much as any pilot here. And your admonishment because it is cooperative rather than adverserial. It's biblical. Do we care about the other guy?

Jim

Rob wrote:...We also lost one very amazing young man this year. He was killed in a training accident. He probably had 100,000 years of flying experience surrounding him. He did excellent through the ratings, and could fly the wings off a Christian eagle like people with 10 fold his hours, but in the end the insurance companies wouldn't let him make the jump into the big turbines without the school. Sadly it was a wire vs Citabria incident that got him. I purposely did not venture into the recent 'wire' thread because when I work in around under and over wires, it is in an airplane made to take that hit, with training made to answer the call when it goes south... IMNSHO if you fool with wires in a light GA airplane that simply does not carry the mass to take the hit.... well,... you are on a fools errand... a miscalculation here will not be like nosing over on a beach because you misjudged your water skiing... simple physic's says it will kill you when it happens... admonishing rant over

Take care, Rob

Sorry to read this.

Happened upon a helicopter vs. high tension line early on in my flying career. About :30 post - accident. Nothing left but a smoking hole in the ground. The effect was lasting. I've never put a gallon of chemical out of an airplane (plenty with a Spra-Coupe), although I did get a lap ride once in an Ag Wagon. Wires are ever present in my nightmares.

Also sorry about your buddy Rob, had heard about it, but didn't know it was one of your own [emoji25]


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With all the rain, and usually being the only pilot at this location, it's been cranking last couple months. Short of some weather breaks, it's been all day everyday for last 6 weeks. Around here, the flyin is either gravy run, or rat trap, very little in between haha. Lots of wind turbines, and Marty no they don't turn them off, and they still suck haha!




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Skalywag,

How's the storm sitting off the coast going to affect your operation?

What a great thread.
I've considered partially retiring by quitting my job and flying for a living.

It would be much easier to do now that my kids have moved along.

I even know a few guys who wouldn't laugh if I asked for a job. They'd probably still say no, but they wouldn't laugh. They're AT guys though, so...

I went to college in The Palouse which is quite hilly (primarily wheat), and I used to ride my bicycle many miles out of town.

I came across a wide gully one day with an AgCat out in the middle, up on its nose. A pair of foot tracks went from the plane to the side of the two lane highway. The foot prints were like post holes in the mud, which explained why the landing wasn't better.

Paddles,

I'm working up in the North TX Panhandle area, so the Hurricane shouldn't affect us. Sure hoping it doesn't mess up my buddies operation down on the coast though.


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Looks like maybe it'll slide up the coast just enough to not slam us head on.
Lil breezy right now.
Thought I'd catch up on here a little. (;

Glad to hear from you guys, Skalywag and 55wagon. Nice to know you at least occasionally check in.

It is great to hear from you 55wagon. I was beginning to wonder if you wandered of the reservation!

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Low dryland crop prices, the norm when I was in the business, have put a damper on work here.

Cotton prices haven't slowed anything down around here Contact. Guessing that 80% of the crop I've sprayed has been Cotton, mostly Pix work, the rest Corn and a little milo. Oh yeah, sprayed one field of Millet in OK. Tomorrow will be the end of a really good run, got 900 acres left of dryland cotton work. My gig here is up Sept. 1, might come back n help out with more pix and defoliation, but its time to gather cattle n get ready for hunting season. Missing out on guiding the annual Pronghorn hunt in NM right now, which is kinda a bummer, but real happy to be busy flyin too.

Keep the planes parked orderly in the hangar here, from best to meh hahahahaha


GPS is such an amazing thing, the new ones are magic in my book, ok maybe the M3 is outdated but still!!! Today was a gravy run, no wind turbines/XC lines or critical obstacles, just some pivot hopping [emoji857]



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That's a sweet hangar full Luke. Have any of you guys ran winglets on the thrush? We had a radial thrush on the farm where I grew up and it got winglets at some point, apparently helped a lot.

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