And there you are, standing proudly before your ag aircraft, with a newly minted Ag Aviation Course Diploma, certifying you as a qualified ag aviator.
It’s been the culmination of a long process from your early days in the business as a part of a mixing/loading crew, along with endless hours building flight hours to get a Commercial License. But finally, you’ve made it, and to boot, you’ve got an owner who trusts you to fly his aircraft.
Now what? The company you’re about to fly for has an excellent reputation as a safety-focused operation, and the ag course you’ve just finished has given you a great perspective on the flying end of things, so you should be pretty well prepared to head off and get the job done. In fact, you are given a proviso or two.
One of the major points to remember is that you are a novice pilot in a very demanding operational environment that demands your full attention every second. You will soon come up against a situation where you have to go or no-go while more experienced pilots are rolling down the runway. It’s a Greenhorn’s Dilemma. As a greenhorn, one basic tenet is passed along to me from an ‘old timer’ to guide you through thick and thin. Always ask yourself before each flight: Will the flight be safe and effective? If the answer to both of these questions is not an immediate “Yes!”, it’s time to reevaluate and set things in place to make sure all is well and good.
(Interestingly, the term “greenhorn” dates to the 15th century when young calves with immature horns were known as greenhorns.)
Here’s one example from my very first flight working for my very first operator. I had yet to meet him in person, but he had asked me to travel to the airport where repairs were being completed on his AgWagon and ferry the aircraft to the site of his operations. Upon arrival at the aircraft maintenance shop, I was told the mechanic had left for the day, but the keys were hanging in his office, and I could take the aircraft at any time.
The Journey Log indicated that new brakes had been installed. It didn’t take long to find out something was amiss, for as soon as I started to taxi, the left brake kept grabbing and releasing just enough to be annoying. Serviceable for normal operations? I was going through rationalizing my way to making it serviceable. Still, no matter how twisted my logic got (new brakes need a break-in period), the result was that the aircraft was not serviceable to fly. Or at least in the view of this greenhorn pilot.
I called the owner, and he was not pleased with my decision. He said last year’s pilot had said it was OK, just a peculiarity of that aircraft that needed a bit of getting used to. As he was my only option of finding a seat that season, the thought of losing the opportunity rose large in my thoughts. In the end, I told him I would sleep on it.
The next day dawned bright and early, and I met the mechanic at the aircraft. In fact, he hadn’t finished the final installation procedure on the brakes but had signed the Journey Log anyway, expecting to be back shortly. Once the procedure was completed, the brakes worked just as advertised.
Respect the Learning Curve
Given the growing complexity of the aerial application business, there will be more than one learning curve you’ll be surfing. There is a LOT to learn! The aircraft, the nav and guidance system, the safe use of pesticides, weather phenomena conducive to wreaking havoc on aerial applications, new regulations from regulatory agencies, etc). There are also the legal and financial implications of either not doing a job correctly or having a neighbouring farmer’s crop severely damaged by an off-target drift due to an inversion.
Humility, not Hubris
The Greeks coined the term hubris to refer to a baseless overconfidence that can lead to overstepping one’s capabilities. One of aviation’s first legends is from the Ancient Greek tale of Icarus, who could fly using wings constructed from bird feathers stuck together with beeswax. Going against sound advice from his father, Icarus flew too close to the sun, melting his beeswax wings and causing him to fall from the sky. He was too ambitious for his own good. The Greed gods issued sharp reminders to those afflicted by Hubris of their own mortality.
Aviation, in general, and agricultural aviation, in particular, is not the place to showcase your talents or dazzling capabilities to others. Keep your humility in check by buffering with equal amounts of humility. Learn from your mistakes, seek feedback from more experienced pilots, and learn from their insights.
Be Consistent
Aviation was the first industry to use checklists in daily operations. That began with the tragic 1935 crash of a Boeing 299 experimental bomber, designed to be the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft. The aircraft had flight control locks to prevent wind damage while parked. Unfortunately, the aircraft took off with the elevator locks in place and crashed shortly after takeoff.
From the investigation came Boeing’s elegant solution: the development of a pilot’s checklist covering takeoff, flight, and before- and after-landing items.
Because of the comparative simplicity of operation of a single seat, single pilot operation, there comes a tendency to forego reference to checklists. This becomes especially critical when the pilot workload is at the highest, compounded by other human factors like fatigue. You are less likely to overlook takeoff flaps when you’re fresh and the pace is slow than when the alligators are nipping at your tail.
Avoid Overloading the Aircraft
This can seem to be a no-brainer, but there is more to it than first meets the eye. With each aircraft type you fly, the load size you can take safely will depend on various factors: Skill level, time on type, temperature and humidity, runway length and slope, wind strength and direction, and other factors. When calculating what load size, given current conditions, you can safely take, always give yourself a margin of error to keep the gremlins from making for a bad day at the office. Taking two lighter loads is much better than a single maximum load that ends up as a twisted piece of aluminum.
So, as a greenhorn, tenderfoot, novice, or newbie to the business, the decision for making every fight a safe one is mainly in your hands. Take that responsibility to heart and use it wisely to ensure you’ll always end up with the same number of landings as takeoffs.
