It’s Fly Time!
By: Katie McWhirter, Precision Ag Specialist
I had the extreme pleasure of attending the Iowa Agricultural Aviation Association’s S.A.F.E. (Self-regulating Application and Flight Efficiency) Calibration Clinic in Marshalltown on June 6th. It was amazing to see the time and effort put in by this industry to make sure that the pilots have the knowledge about their coverage, droplet size, etc. to be able to make those adjustments to their planes prior to the season getting underway and be calibrated to do the best possible job.
My past dealings have been to serve as our consultant with the state of Iowa for aerial application. There’s a huge checklist, but in a nutshell, make sure they get in the right fields, identify crop sensitive areas, and be the contact person if there’s an issue. I always tell our receptionists to be ready on the phones, as they will start getting calls about those ‘Yellow Planes’ in the sky spraying chemicals. It’s a public relations nightmare! So, here are some interesting things you may not know about aerial application:
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Average years of experience is 21.3 years in the industry and 27.4 years of flying experience.
- Ag pilots also have their commercial pilots’ and commercial pesticide applicators’ licenses.
- 87% of the aircraft’s used are fixed-wing and the rest are rotorcraft/helicopters.
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Of the 1,350 aerial application businesses in the United States, 94% of those owners are also pilots.
- Ag aircrafts are built to handle 30 to 100 takeoffs and landings every day!
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Today’s aircrafts utilize sophisticated precision application equipment such as GPS (global positioning systems), GIS (geographical information systems), flow controls, real time meteorological systems and precisely calibrated spray equipment.
Our pilot, Zach Lawson of Midland Flyers, applies between 50,000-60,000 acres annually. His aircraft is equipped with GPS and flow controls. He has been flying since 2013.
Have any questions? Contact our Agronomy Team!