United States

Often, I am asked, "What is it like to be a SEAT pilot?" My reply usually is, “I have the best job in the world”. Believe me when I say that this life is not for everyone. Extended periods of time are spent away from home, and often one wakes...

Fifteen years ago, this month, the unprecedented terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, triggered a series of actions that pushed the agricultural aviation industry and the National Agricultural Aviation Association to the limit. The importance of having a strong national association could not be any more evident than amid those...

By the time you read this, the 2016 summer fire season will be just a few short weeks from being over. Overall, the season has been very slow with both acres burned and the amount of fires well below the 10-year averages. It is hard to show that it is...

The weather forecast was 100% chance of hot with a 50% chance of miserable. The first few jobs were going to be done while the sun was still scowling down on the bone dry Central Valley. The Old Boy was holding some sort of grudge. Even in the last couple...

Aero Spray, Inc. of Appleton, MN entered into the aerial fire-fighting world in 1999 with a MN-DNR “call-when-needed” contract for its AT-802A. Owner John Schwenk quickly discovered that the AT-802 was a highly cost effective spray and fire-fighting aircraft that significantly enhanced Aero Spray’s productivity and bottom line. In 2007,...

The status of Greece’s aerial fire-fighting armada is in crisis after the Hellenic Air Force endured its third major CL-215/415 disaster since 2014. On June 26, 2016 at 11:09 GMT, the piston-engine, fire-fighting aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force, the Canadair CL-215, crashed close to the village of Stefani, near...

IN MY OPINION, this little dissertation is a mild case of venting for me, as well as other ag pilots who have expressed similar feelings. It is also mildly sarcastic. For AgAir Update readers, I have “cleaned” it up considerably (use your imagination). Over the years that I have been...

Tour stops planned for multiple cities – beginning with EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh (Albany, GA) –Thrush aircraft is dedicating considerable resources and effort to a new marketing campaign designed to build awareness among an international audience regarding the benefits of agricultural aviation. The new campaign is named "Ag Aviation -...

Aerial application can be just as effective as ground application, but that characterization does not do aerial application justice. Aerial application has many advantages. We thought it would be a good idea to review those advantages this month in case we need to articulate them to our customers and critics....

After years of tireless work, NAAA is happy to announce that we’ve secured tower marking requirements and an FAA tower database for towers between 50 and 200 feet. These measures are included in a bill signed by President Obama on July 15 that will extend the FAA’s funding authority through...