how to become an agriculteral pilot

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Jacob Blakey

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Jacob Blakey
I'm 16 and plan on being a crop duster, but I have no idea how. What do I need to do? What type of education will I need? Is there a college for this stuff?
 
Get your initial ratings. Then there are ag schools I think that teach the specific techniques.
 
Working on the ground first as a loader would be a good idea.

I taught at this school for a while

http://www.agflight.com

I can't say enough about it, it's all tailwheel in 7ECAs, you'll learn the light bar in a supercub, solo spraying with water and a light bar in a pawnee, dual in a radial AG Cat, CPL complex work in a PA24. It's the oldest AG school in the US and most all the students who finished the school ended up with a seat in short order, all the instructors are high time pilots, side note on the doing a season or so of ground loading before starting flight training, 100% of the students who finished AG flight and also had ground loading experience prior ended up with a seat.
 
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Bonchie said:
Get your initial ratings. Then there are ag schools I think that teach the specific techniques.
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Hope you do all that stuff in a tailwheel, tailwheel time is huge.

Hope you learn to be comfy low level and not with some airline wannabe CFI.

You going to spend the money on your instrument? Not much use in AG.

Networking is big too when it comes to AG.
 
Buy a tailwheel that uses mogas. Get your ratings (private and VFR commercial) in it. Fly A LOT. Get your states applicators license for the Ag category. Go to an Ag school.
Two guys who started their training when I did my private went that route. One of them now owns a spray business, the other one flies for an airline.
 
All the ones I've ever run into owned their own planes. Biggest downside is you have to deal with all those chemicals. Need to be into communicating with farmers because those are your customers.
 
Go down to the toy store and get a sack of about 50 marbles. Get in a plane, either open cockpit or one you can open the window on and fly over a plowed field and try to drop the marble at the start of the first furrow. When you get to the other side drop one at the end of the row. Turn around as quick as you can and drop one at the end of the second row and fly back and drop it at the beginning of that row. Repeat this with subsequent rows.

When you've lost all your marbles, you're ready for agricultural flying.
 
Flyingtigeraviation.net just northeast of Monroe La. Fixed and rotor.
 
Btw. Ag pilots are the only commercial pilots I have ever met who don't incessantly whine about their boss, 'the company', 'management' or 'the contract'. It's not like the business is without its challenges, but you are dealing with the weather, competition and the contracts you sign to affect your income, not some committee.

Or maybe its just the chemicals that make you a happier person.
 
There's a lot of crop dusting around here.

Friend of mine owns the old airport in Tallulah, LA and bases his cropdusters there. Those dudes work. Coming and going non-stop all day.
 
mscard88 said:
Really? :rolleyes:
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Yes

From working as a CFI in both fields, seeing how guys who have trained in house (0-CPL AG) or got their PPL and hours by a AG operator vs guys who learn from a standard issue CFI in a standard issue trainer, looking at how they did in the "AG add on" program, guys who learn in house or under a AG operator do considerably better.

steingar said:
I would think the biggest drawbacks are low pay and constant danger.
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The ones I've met and seen go into the industry seem to progress faster in the pay department than airline bound guys,

CFI-Regional-major route doesn't really seem to pay as well as ground crew-CPL-piston AG seat-turbine AG seat-starting your own, pay wise.

Lots of money to be made if you want to work, not a good job for those who want to just collect a check with minimal work.
 
There seem to be two kinds of Ag pilots. Sessile and migratory. The ones who stay local have some other usually Ag related business. Farm, custom harvesting, trucking etc. They just make the big bucks during the season and occupy themselves with something else the rest of the year. The migratory Ag pilots follow the crops and the clouds. Also, with some experience there is fire to round out the season. Lots of living in RVs and cheap motels but good money to spend on 3 ex-wives and your race-cars, skydiving or cocaine during the winter.
 
James331 said:
Yes



CFI-Regional-major route doesn't really seem to pay as well as ground crew-CPL-piston AG seat-turbine AG seat-starting your own, pay wise.

Lots of money to be made if you want to work, not a good job for those who want to just collect a check with minimal work.
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I wouldn't have a problem with your bs if you didn't always turn it into insulting the airline profession, even when no one brought up the airlines on this thread and others. You do this all the time, even insult military people and their benefits like the GI Bill. I don't see airline pilots cutting down what you think are the real jobs on here, or whatever it is that you do for a job. I don't know what your hang up is with pilots pursuing airline careers, and really none of your business what path a pilot chooses. I've even known a couple of crop dusters at my airline and no way would they go back, see, there's a different take on it for you. Why not just stick with the subject and leaving your immature little digs at the airlines and veterans out of it? Don't be so damn shallow.
 
It was said that AG is a low paying job, based on the fact that most folks consider all commerical pilots must be going to the airlines, it's really what is easist to compare to when it comes to non aviation and even some aviation folks.


My lack of support for our industrial millitary complex is just based on easily found economics and the outcomes of our campaigns in these types of occupations/"wars". I just can't afford the complex, my neghiborhood quality of life would be much higher if we traded our overbloated millitary and government for the increase in local economic growth that would be seen if my neghibors checks didn't have 25% stolen out of them by the government.


As for my "BS" what here have I said that was BS?

AG pilots wouldn't benifit from building hours around AG instructors?
building hours in tailwheel?
building low level flight fundamentals and being proficient at some of the special considerations?
Working as a loader and ground crew first?
that AG pay has a healthy progression and can top out rather high if you put the work in?


How much AG instruction have you given BTW? As someone who is calling me out as a BSer you must really have some experience right?
 
James331 said:
Networking is big too when it comes to AG.
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This seems to be the important part. Having some tailwheel time and maybe going to one of the ag schools is beneficial but knowing someone ahead of time that will give you a shot is better. Everyone that I've known who has gotten a start in agricultural flying got it because they already knew the guys they ended up working for, some of them were friends even before they started taking flying lessons. Being friends or being a warm body in the right place at the right time will sometimes result in more opportunities than going to any fancy school will.
 
Get a summer job as a pesticide loader. Take Chemistry in high school. Learn the difference between pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, suicide. Gotta know your sides :)
 
coloradobluesky said:
Get a summer job as a pesticide loader. Take Chemistry in high school. Learn the difference between pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, suicide. Gotta know your sides :)
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If you actually knew any chemistry there's no way you'd go near any of that stuff.
 
steingar said:
If you actually knew any chemistry there's no way you'd go near any of that stuff.
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That may be, but if the OP wants a job as a spray pilot he's probably going to be loading for a few years first.

The main thing the commercial applicators license testing does, is reinforce that the stuff you're working with can harm you. At least that's what I took away from it.
 
James331 said:
It was said that AG is a low paying job, based on the fact that most folks consider all commerical pilots must be going to the airlines, it's really what is easist to compare to when it comes to non aviation and even some aviation folks.
My lack of support for our industrial millitary complex is just based on easily found economics and the outcomes of our campaigns in these types of occupations/"wars". I just can't afford the complex, my neghiborhood quality of life would be much higher if we traded our overbloated millitary and government for the increase in local economic growth that would be seen if my neghibors checks didn't have 25% stolen out of them by the government.
As for my "BS" what here have I said that was BS?
AG pilots wouldn't benifit from building hours around AG instructors?
building hours in tailwheel?
building low level flight fundamentals and being proficient at some of the special considerations?
Working as a loader and ground crew first?
that AG pay has a healthy progression and can top out rather high if you put the work in?
How much AG instruction have you given BTW? As someone who is calling me out as a BSer you must really have some experience right?
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Where did anyone in this thread say ag was low paying? I never did. No one else did in this thread either. Didn't see anyone bashing ag pilots either like you do to airline careers.

You went right into bashing airline pilots in post #4 above, and you've done it on other threads. Your disdain for those who pursue an airline career is very obvious. Why?

Thanks for supporting our military. :rolleyes:

I do have a lot of experience but no ag instruction, never said I did and never did I insult ag pilots as a career. In fact a few posts in I gave a link to an ag school (post #8).
 
mscard88 said:
Where did anyone in this thread say ag was low paying? I never did. No one else did in this thread either.
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right here
steingar said:
I would think the biggest drawbacks are low pay and constant danger.
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mscard88 said:
You went right into bashing airline pilots in post #4 above, and you've done it on other threads. Your disdain for those who pursue an airline career is very obvious. Why?
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I said you don't want a airline aspiring/trained CFI, the way the guys who are heading towards airlines train, like ATP Inc folks, is quite different from AG. Not a bash, just a fact that the flying is very different.




mscard88 said:
Thanks for supporting our military. :rolleyes:
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Well... I don't really have a choice.
 
From what I've seen, loading looks like a job for someone who likes to sit in a truck and wait a long time, interrupted by occasional work when the plane comes back.
 
NoHeat said:
From what I've seen, loading looks like a job for someone who likes to sit in a truck and wait a long time, interrupted by occasional work when the plane comes back.
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With plenty of study time in between loading. Sounds like a good deal for a young inspiring pilot with plans for his/her future.
 
NoHeat said:
From what I've seen, loading looks like a job for someone who likes to sit in a truck and wait a long time, interrupted by occasional work when the plane comes back.
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Depends...I've had days where I was either missing or loading, no rest times, and I've also had days where I could take naps between loads.

More often closer to the first than the second, but things have probably changed in the last 30 years.
 
Jacob Blakey said:
I'm 16 and plan on being a crop duster, but I have no idea how. What do I need to do? What type of education will I need? Is there a college for this stuff?
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You need to watch the " Mississippi delta crop duster pilot " video. A few things have changed like turbine engines, pressurized cockpits . It's still a dangerous game. Check out the accident reports that have started coming in down south on the faa monthly accident reports. Lousy job.
 
I was at a hanger lunch at a foundation on the field at KTVR a few weeks back.

Several guys there have crop-dusting outfits. They were talking about recent fatals like it's a pretty common thing. As if someone in the area dies at least a few times a year (NE LA is a huge ag area).
 
Most of the folks I have met in that line of business wouldn't care about the mis-spelling.
 
First post here. I am a farmer [for 38 years] and have been around crop dusters all of my life [just turned 60 years of age] and I too wanted to be a duster when I was a teenager. I earned my private and was instructed by a crop duster and actually would take his 150 out and simulate crop dusting. My plan was to buy a plane and spray my own crops. But time constraints, family obligations and finances led me to focus on farming instead of flying. The life of an "aerial applicator" or crop duster can be nomadic, with young pilots following the work to Florida for vegetables in winter and spring, sugar cane in Louisiana, or pine trees in wherever. Then summer work on row crops in the Carolinas or South Georgia. Sometimes living in rental homes or pull behind campers, the rural life where ag is located is not the most dynamic areas for fun and entertainment. If you are working for a owner/operator you will be flying his plane and will be paid by the acre. How many acres you spray in a day depends on weather, field size, and total volume of spray material. Most good pilots can spray 600 to 1000 acres a day and earn good money. But the work is seasonal and many days are spent waiting on crops to grow and the weather to cooperate. If you chose to stay in one area and fly and spray only during the season then be prepared to have a part time job to supplement your income. The shift to gmo crops has greatly reduced the amount of insecticides spray on row crops such as cotton and corn. The gmo technology has placed a toxin in the plant itself so insects feed on the plants and die so no need to spray. However, the need for fungicides and herbicides continue and much of the spraying today is with those products. If you are serious about a career in ag spraying then you need to work around the industry. Learning the chemicals and rates etc is essential and working as a loader and mixer of chemicals is the best way. Good luck. Get the PPL first. Job with a applicator as a loader/mixer second. My crop duster CFI told me once....."There are two kinds of crop dusters.......good ones and dead ones."
 
Possum, right on.

If our field sprays were as toxic as some assume, most farmers would be dead - mostly because they don't read and are always in a hurry. (As I will be in about 20 minutes when the spray tank finishes filling)
Insect resistant and disease resistant DNA modified plants have allowed us to markedly decrease the use of more toxic chemicals. A fact that the anti's either choose to ignore or are incapable of understanding. My neighbor grows non gmo corn. I look at the list of chemicals he has to spray multiple times - and I choose to use the most resistant traits I can buy, make one pass with the sprayer and that's it for the season.
 
I too farm. Lots of people complain about GMOs but they have drastically reduced the chemicals we use. I can remember dumping Counter in my planter with the skull and crossbones label wondering how many years it was taking off my life using the stuff.

One correction to possums post above. He stated GMOs produce toxins in the plant. It's not a toxin per say. It's a protein. A protein that is deadly to only the target pest.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yes Swampfox you are correct. I used the term "toxin" to be more descriptive than precise. With GMO technology we spray much less, use conservation tillage, and burn much less fuel than we did years ago with conventional production. As a result we have only one aerial applicator left in our area. When I began farming 38 years ago we had 6 applicators. GMO's have allowed us to spray much less than before and as a result, crop dusters have faded away.
 
A mirage is sustained, it's a crop spraying plane,
As real as this mist on my face.
My eyes start to burn and my chromosomes turn,
To trading their genes place to place.
 
Yeah, the push back from GMO crops is rather counterintuitive. Green protesting technology that decreases the use of pesticides...
 
Every successful guy I know in the industry had some sort of personal connection to the area. He/she's from the area, related to people or some similar circumstance. In a way, it's more similar to corporate flying than anything else.

Once you have the training, you need to embed yourself in an area and really get to know the local operators and let them get to know you. You earn a rep that way, and work it on up from there.

The most successful people seem to be those that are in a position to start their own shop or take over for an existing operator. As someone else pointed out, those who have alternate means via other businesses have an advantage, not just from a business standpoint, but from simple networking.

Richman
 
I grew up loading for my dad between ages 13 and 18. In the 70s. There was typically plenty to do between loads with prepping next load, refilling water tank from well, accepting jobs from farmers, occasionally having one stop by to pay (which required looking up the work, finding the bill and writing a receipt), receiving chemical shipments and unloading. Farmers delivering their own chemicals which needed marked/segregated from other chemical. Selling chemicals to other farmers. There was always equipment to maintain and service such as pumps, motors, augers, trucks, etc. If nothing else, just picking up and cleaning up empty containers, packaging, etc took time as well. During defoliating season, it Was not uncommon to have a coule hundred 5 gallon cans of defoliant.

Dad was also an A&P so there were frequently other planes to work on.

Dad opted to retire from ag work rather than have my brother and me continue on. We both fly recreationally but didn't pursue it professionally. An established ag pilot can make a pretty good living.

I once made up a list of all the chemicals to which I as directly exposed to loading and flagging not to mention living around. It was pretty extensive. Dad died of old age, asleep in his bed with some 10,000+ ag hours. My brother and I have experienced no health issues attributable to chemical exposure thus far. My 22year Army career took a hell of a bigger toll on my body so far. Still, we could both be sitting on a proverbial time bomb.

I do know of two of my dad's contemporaries did die of cancer, but they were older when it happened. Don't know if any causal relation was established, but it is possible. Maybe it was from saccharine or smoking (one did, one didn't).

I knew only one ag pilot during this period killed in a crash, though a few balled planes up. Knew more folks who died in non-ag aviation accidents.
 
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