United States

During the period from November 1960, I began working with Rural Aviation as an aerial topdressing pilot flying the Cessna 180. It was my first flying job and I had just passed the New Zealand CPL. My parents were very concerned about me entering the NZ aerial topdressing industry due...

Variable rate technology for dry applications utilizing aircraft has been around for about ten years. Pete Jones’ of Air Repair in Cleveland, Mississippi was one of the first to develop a hydraulically driven gate system that can apply variable and constant rates of dry material. As an option, the hydraulic...

OLNEY, TX — Air Tractor, Inc. is proud to announce its expansion into the field of unmanned aerial systems. The recent acquisition of Hangar 78 UAV, and its flagship aircraft, the Yield Defender unmanned aerial system (UAS) will create the foundation of Air Tractor’s development and visionary integration of unmanned...

It’s not just you, everyone will agree that pest management is getting more complicated. In the old days, we often just selected the best pesticide, the most efficacious or the least expensive from multiple options. The pesticide was often very broad spectrum and very effective. The use recommendations were simple...

ALEXANDRIA, VA — May 24, 2016 — The House of Representatives today passed H.R. 897, the Zika Vector Control Act, giving professional, small aerial application businesses the confidence they need to combat disease-carrying mosquitoes, including the public health threatening Zika virus. The Zika Vector Control Act would allow applicators to...

This is a topic that we at Flying Tiger Aviation harp on to the point that it’s just a matter of time before someone shouts, “That’s enough already… I’ve got the point!” And the point is (drum roll please)…ferry at 500 feet AGL! During the last week of June 2003,...

It is getting to be a busy time of year for most ag-operators north of the equator; acres coming in, piling up on the books, getting behind. That brings up a point that most of us don’t think about too much and that is the dangers of a spinning propeller...

“It was a dark and stormy night.” Sounds like the opening line to a third rate suspense novel doesn’t it? The suspense was little old me strapped into a Thrush plowing through torrential rain. Thunder, lightening, wind and dark coming down the slot pointing the nose at blurry runway lights,...

Air Tractor 502XP at work in Arkansas The statement has rung throughout the ag-aviation industry since the days of removing the 220 HP Continental R-670 radial from the Stearman to eventually replacing it with a 600 HP Pratt & Whitney Canada R-1340 engine. Although there are significant advantages to improving...

Submitted by Justin Rowley via Mike Feeney. Two Taylorcraft Austers, as they were advertised during the 1950s: The J1/B Aiglet proved to be popular for aerial topdressing in New Zealand for several reasons. They were a USA design, but made in the UK under a US license. US Dollars were hard to...