Some humorous bits.


And Helicopters are a big part of the scene in NZ.

A particularly cranky ag pilot I know of was giving his loader driver a hard time on a super job.

Next load, when the driver was approaching the aircraft, instead of putting the super in the hopper he put the bucket over the aircraft cockpit instead, not touching any part of the aircraft, but blocking egress from either cockpit door. Of course the pilot couldn't move the aircraft without taking the tail off on the loader.

So the loader driver switched off, and walked off to town leaving the pilot stuck for several hours.

Sad times in the Ag industry as well.

Getting over enough acreage would limit this drone on pasture and grain crops even at 1 GPA. For vegetable crops at 5 GPA, it will handle a ten acre plot with one load. Growers prefer 10 GPA, but 5 works on most.

This had to have been painful to the pocketbook:


https://www.foxnews.com/us/plane-crashe ... veal-stunt

Don't ask don't tell worked for all in the Army where it wasn't about the individual, regardless of individual identity. We all wore a green uniform that said U.S.Army.

On a different note, what was told to me by an operator close by, that the biggest hit the ag spraying business has took in the last several years, was the John Deere leaseback program.
He said a farmer could put a minimum wage worker on a deere sprayer and do it for several dollars an acre cheaper than a plane. Put a severe hit on his business in South Georgia

Again it has to do with getting across the acreage. Vegetable growers ground rig until the wheels start hitting more mature crop, then all air. Also when too wet for ground rig.

Regardless, price of crop determines how much damage from weed bug or whatever is acceptable. Tarrifs reduce demand which lowers price and everyone is affected. Free trade has sold more Air Tractors and John Deere highcycles than anything.

Just when you were amazed at the crazy situations people get themselves into when they are bored, this kind of thing happens. Really.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/plane-crashes ... wopack_hed

I'm not a crop duster, but I'm a pilot and retired farmer and amateur photographer who enjoys the challenge of photographing crop dusters. For the last few years I've been taking photos for a local aerial applicator who publishes a business calendar each year. I use Nikon cameras with telephoto lenses so I don't have to be super close to the action, and I know how to stay upwind of the spray or how to duck into my car when doing head-on shots.

We will be traveling a lot in the future; western states like Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, California, and southern states are possible as well. Might be spending winter months in Florida and/or Arizona / California but I'm not familiar with growing/spraying seasons outside of Iowa. If anyone is interested please send me a message and maybe we can find a time and place that will work for both of us. I'm not looking to be paid, but I would like to work with owners/operators in advance to get some good photos of aerial applicators in scenic locations, and I'm willing to share the best of these photos with the owners/operators for their own use. I always wanted to be a crop duster but this is as close as I'm going to get. Thanks, and here are just a few of my recent photos:

Awesome photos. Although the 'season' in Iowa stretches a fair amount longer in either direction, I imagine you'd be hard pressed to go a day without seeing a crop duster popping up on the horizon from mid July till mid August. I've travelled there for summer work for the last 10 years or so and typically base out of a muni airport straight north of you a little (Rockwell city).

Most of the western states you list will be very similar in season for typical field crop, but several will have other forms of crop dusting (timber, rice, produce, etc....) that will have seasons offset by as much as six months. For example, while my home area (SW AZ) has at least some spraying to be done virtually year round, the produce (read; salad veggies) is really a fall through spring deal, with Oct-Dec, and then again Feb-Mar being the busiest months. With produce, there are logistics that make the work hours just as backwards as the season. Something most visitors find kind of interesting.

Between migrant workers, and snowbirds the population in our area more than doubles in the winter months, and we even have snowbirders from IA as neighbors

Halfast recently stopped by to visit and hung around until I had to go to work. He shot these with his phone, and I thought they were pretty cool.



You didn't mention what part of CA, but that is one of the most diverse states spraying wise, with the SE portion of the state being very similar to our area.

Take care, Rob

Love the photos and books from scott185.

Here is a similar era one I enjoy from our side of the pond

They’re tough to find and expensive, but “The Ageless Ag Cat” is an excellent book on the design and history of the best spray plane ever built. I might be just a little biased, they’ve saved my life twice.

My new Cat, an A model turbine. After bringing it home I pulled the PT-6-20 off and put a -27 in it’s place. Haven’t had any work yet, but just playing around with it shows that it’ll be a workhorse. Full fuel and 335 gal of water and it’s off the ground in 1100 ft at 80 degree temps, haven’t seen higher than 550 ITT on takeoff. With aileron and elevator servos it turns just like a 450 Cat, just a wonderfully balanced airplane.

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Thank you Rob, and I really like those sunset photos. I can't say when we will be in any certain area, we will be newly retired and this will be the first trip that we don't have a schedule or have to be back home in two weeks. As you say, here in Iowa you can see them everywhere July through August. Perhaps I could contact local FBOs when we are in an area that looks promising. If you see a "paparazzi" with a dark gray chevy pickup with iowa plates it's just me. lol

Here's a unique one for the ag types in the bunch. A friend owns what I believe to be the last flying example, and it is in near pristine condition.
Anyone have a guess as to what it is?

So much of it screams Stinson. Looks like a reliant with a cutback fuselage, highlift wing with the lower wing being adapted to it. Looks like a Swathmaster underneath it, best spreader ever!

Not a Swathmaster by any means, but the little Pawnee A Model spreader worked better than B Model and after. B model looked more professional. I think the act like we have more speed idea didn't pan out. The A model Pawnee was just a bit faster, engine being equal, because of less drop down on the hopper. Pulling air is beneficial for landing, but not in the field. B model with spreader is a dog, even without a big load.

Rob wrote:Here's a unique one for the ag types in the bunch. A friend owns what I believe to be the last flying example, and it is in near pristine condition.
Anyone have a guess as to what it is?

Looks like a Stinson L5 "Sentinel" with some wing trickery & a round engine.
I'm not familiar enough with radials to ID the engine from the pic,
but Stinson equipped a lot of airplanes with Lycoming 680's.