One of Al's Aerial Spraying, LLC Air Tractors applies another load of BT for cankerworm over the city of Charlotte, North Carolina.
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by Bill Lavender
Often aerial applicators are called on to make applications over congested areas. This always presents challenges. The application company has to take into consideration several important factors that include properly notifying the public and acquiring a complex Congested Area Plan waiver from the FAA. The success, or failure, of an aerial application over a congested area reflects on all aerial applicators. When such a mission is completed successfully, everyone benefits.
One of the more challenging contracts for aerial application over a large congested area came about in April of this year. The city of Charlotte, North Carolina took bids for a 63,000-acre contract for the spraying of cankerworms directly over 40% of the urban areas of the city.
Cankerworms have the ability to defoliate and ultimately kill large irreplaceable, willow oak trees. The contract called for the application of Bt, (Bacillus thuringiensis) at 32 ounces per acre (16,000 gallons) using a ULV application method. Bt produces an enzyme in the stomach of the cankerworm that paralyzes its digestive system, resulting in death. It is completely harmless to humans with decades of safe and effective use. Of the three bidders, the contract was awarded to Al’s Aerial Spraying, LLC of Ovid, Michigan. This was not the first time the company had treated Charlotte. In 1998, it made a similar application for the city that covered 5,800 acres. With ten years having past, the public relations effort treated this year’s application as if the city had never been sprayed before.
Charlotte’s Communications Specialist Michelle L. Gutt and City Arborist Donald McSween, started early with radio, television and newsprint announcements advising citizens of the upcoming spraying. Even a flyer was mailed out, giving the details of the application and a hotline phone number to call. Very few people called, with virtually no complaints. It wasn’t hard to convince residents the need for the application. This scenario was unlike San Francisco Bay area residents, who are fighting to stop an aerial application of the same chemical, Bt, for Brown Apple Moth. Charlotte residents stated the cankerworms would get so bad that not only did the worms destroy their trees, but it was almost impossible at certain times to be outside. Some residents even used umbrellas to ward off falling cankerworm waste. Supposedly, Charlotte has the worse cankerworm infestation of anywhere else on the North American continent. This is blamed for a decline in the cankerworm’s natural predator, the minute wasp, not being as prevalent as in past years.
Al’s Aerial Spraying, LLC is no newcomer to congested area spraying, or forestry applications. Al Schiffer formed the business in 1978 after graduating from Purdue University with an aeronautical degree. Two years later, his brother, Mike Schiffer, joined him after graduating from Michigan Technological College with a mechanical engineering degree. With anywhere from six to sixteen employees, depending on the time of the season, the company treats over 1,000,000 acres a year. Of those acres, approximately 70% are flown over congested areas, including Detroit, Chicago and Milwaukee for mosquito and forestry applications.
This year’s Charlotte application required five single engine, turbine-powered Air Tractors; two AT-400s, one AT-402 and two AT-502s. Each aircraft was outfitted with six Mini-Micronair rotary atomizers. The Micronairs were set up to produce 150-micron median size droplets. The aircraft carried 1,600 – 2,000-acre loads. Pilots Ken Niese, Ralph Lutes, John Becker, John Ogle and Chief Pilot Mike Schiffer were selected for the job. It was anticipated five aircraft could treat the 63,000 acres within four days, weather permitting. Applications were scheduled to start early Monday morning and continue through the day until either temperature, humidity, wind or any combination of those factors stopped the application.
One of the many challenges facing Al’s Aerial Spraying was interfacing the data from two different GPS units, the Satloc M3 and Ag-Nav Guia GPS. The applications were plotted using digitized maps broken into manageable blocks with areas of no-fly zones. After each load was applied, the pilot submitted his data card to the U.S. Forestry Service’s John Ghent, who worked with Al’s Aerial Spraying in monitoring the application and overlaying the data to give a completed as-applied map display saved to a memory stick.
Cooperation was established with the Charlotte Class B airspace controllers, since part of the application job was within it. All of the aircraft could communicate with ATC and the Charlotte Tower. More coordination was put in place with aerial medevac services and television helicopter crews, who had Al’s Aerial Spraying communications frequency. All of the aircraft were transponder equipped.
Once the applications started on Monday, the aircraft sprayed North-South lines in 125-foot swaths at 140 mph, 100 feet AGL. The required weather conditions prevailed with an overcast 1,000-foot ceiling and a light breeze. Because of exemplary coordination with the city, the FAA and perfect weather conditions, the applications continued throughout the day with 77% of the work completed by its end. The second day’s weather was similar to the first and the complete contract was successfully completed before noon. By dark of the second day of applications, all of Al’s Aerial Spraying’s aircraft had returned to their home bases.
No sooner were Al’s Aerial Spraying aircraft back in the hangar than five aircraft were embarking on a mosquito contract for the Saginaw Mosquito Abatement Commission in Michigan. This contract was for annual spring larviciding to control mosquito larvae development in seasonally flooded woodlots. It started one week after the completion of the Charlotte cankerworm contract. The contract called for the application of Bt-impregnated, ground corncobs at a rate of 2.5 – 3 pounds per acre. Al’s Aerial Spraying has been flying this contract for the last 17 years.
It is going to be a busy summer for Al’s Aerial Spraying, with the company’s diversification and specialty work. Part of that work will surely be treating corn with a fungicide in July. There’ll be more mosquito work and forestry flying during the year. It’s a good thing when model ag-operations, like Al’s Aerial Spraying, are ambassadors to the general public for ag-aviation with their professionalism and safety record.
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