International

New Zealand tracking company TracPlus announced today that it has appointed Tim Lynskey as their new Chief Executive Officer. Tim takes on the role after 15-months as TracPlus' Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and at a pivotal time for the company as it continues the commercialisation of its wildfire response software,...

“This airplane just goes.” That’s the sentiment expressed by long-time Thrush pilot and 510 BEAST operator Tracy Stokes. Although the weather wasn’t cooperating for AgAir Update’s planned evaluation flight of Cascade Aircraft Conversions BEAST, a PT6A-140AG conversion nested inside their proven pressure cowl, Tracy was able to demo the aircraft...

The aerial application industry has always been one to welcome innovation. In the past 100 years, technical advancements have been no less than astounding. This has been especially true in the last 15-20 years. Now, the industry is being introduced to a relatively new technology that solves many aerial application...

Here's another series of great facts about aerial application to share with people on your social media channels, your schools, etc. We all know everything aerial application can do, but not everyone else does! Let's go beyond "chemicals." As a career writer and dedicated "myth buster" in food and farming,...

One of the most harrowing experiences of my flying career occurred because of an aborted takeoff. I was flying an AgTruck off a farmer’s 2500-foot grass strip, with a friend of mine flying a 450 HP AgCat. We worked all morning, took a lunch break, then back to work in...

  In 2021, we celebrated the 100th year of agricultural aviation, and I celebrated my 25th year with Covington Aircraft. Many achievements in life are marked by time. "Let every man be master of his time." -William Shakespeare. Many of you are wondering, Craymer, how are you going to talk...

At Night With A Satloc   I had an AgAir Update reader email me about an article he had “dug” up from 1994. Gee, that was 27 years ago! I finally found the article stored away in the archives. It brought back many memories.   In the article, I visited...

Left to Right: Jose Miles, Marcos Gimenez, Fabian Quintana, Leonidas GomezCuello, Cap. Luis Cordero, Juan Phillips (AgSur Aviones) ferry pilot Matias Gurmandi (masked), and Cap. Wilson Gutierrez The first Air Tractor 502XP to operate in Ecuador was delivered to its new owner, Agrolineas del Pacifico S.A. (APACSA) located at Machala,...

Former director of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau Nat Nagy has been appointed as CEO of the Aerial Application Association of Australia (AAAA). Nagy was appointed in December after long-time CEO Phil Hurst retired in October last year. Nagy has held executive positions at the ATSB and Airservices Australia, is...

One of the most spectacular aviation incidents I’ve ever witnessed occurred a few years back when I was flying off a farmer’s packed dirt strip oriented north/south, with a 1-degree gradient, the southern end being highest. I was flying a Thrush S2R, and a friend was flying an M-18 Dromader...