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Ag-Pilot Ingrates...

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stearmann4

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 12, 2005
Posts
46
This came over from another forum (the author is friend of mine), but it's a pretty good illustration of why it's so hard to break into the ag flying industry. I'm sure AvBug will agree...

MR-

I've been working as an Ag-Pilot going on seven years now. (WOW time fies!) I've seen a lot of guys try and fail. It seems that only about one out of a hundred actually make it. I've seen many who were given training, and ratings on a silver platter only to bawk and flake out. Or take the help they were given down the road. Well... that is bullsh*t in the highest degree! There are a lot of guys out there who dream of tear assin' around the country side in high powered flying machines, close to the ground ( flyin' low and lookin' mean). But most don't have what it takes to actually do the job. I'm fed up with spoon feeding a beginning pilot only to hear whines and complaints in return. The folks I work for and many others that I know of have spent a lot time and money and have taken great risks to start a new pilot only to be left holding the bag when the guy shrugs and walks off. This aint no pretty boy, clean shirt, Rayban wearin' hot shot pilots job! It's a whole lot of work and risk and it takes dedication and guts. The industry... the work... determines what you do with a mighty big portion of your life. The bugs don't care if your old lady is pissed off. The weeds are going to continue to invade weather or not you got your feelings hurt. If you want to do this kind of work, if you want to be an Ag-Pilot, you get your ass in that plane and go spray. and do it right! There are times when millions of dollars and perhaps somebody else's way of living are on the line every time that throttle goes forward or that money handle goes down.

If you find that you are not cut out for this kind of work, for what ever reason, even if you tried, at least be man enought to tell the guy that's paying your way so that he won't be depending on you or spending more of his money.

If you want to be an ag-pilot and be a part of this amazing way of life... fine. Be sure you can conduct a true and honest self evaluation in order to determine weather or not you can make it when the opportunity is presented to you. That includes your family life, your home, finances, your car, your dog, every damn thing in your life. This job... especially the first couple of years takes determination and dedication of just about every aspect of your existence. If you can't do that go somewhere else and quit wasting time, and by all means... stop whining. It is what it is and nothing or nobody is going to change anything about it in order to suit you. ATTITUDE is everything. Show up here with a lousy, smart ass, attitude and you'll be circling the drain before you get in the door. Nobody "deserves" anything and nobody owes you anything. The boss doesn't care how a great a pilot you are. He's goning to care if YOU care! Take care of the equipment and do the job right.

I hope that some of this sinks in to a few minds out there. We need Ag-Pilots, not whiners or Tom Cruise wannabees. So... to the new guy... if you want to do it... get your head out of your ass.... man up and give it your best. OR.... go on down the road and find something that suits you better.
 
Shoot, I've been doing it all wrong all these years. I've been stopping and fixing things when they are broke, stopping and taking a nap when I was tired, stopping when the weather was bad, and showering and wearing clean shirts to work.

Thanks to you and your friend for the work ethics lesson, I will pretend I am fighting the Taliban in the future :)
 
Gordy,

I know you...former tanker trash like the rest of us. Let's not pretend we're too squeaky clean, now.

People might just get the wrong idea.
 
Yeah, I though about being an Ag-Pilot... for about 12 seconds, then decided on a much safer line of work, maybe like suicide bomber.

:p
 
Interesting comparison.

A suicide bomber and an ag pilot. Both hold their destiny in their own hand, both control their fate. One, the criminal, makes a decision to terrorize, hurt, and cause death and injury for an insane cause. The other, the ag pilot, elects to work hard for a living, feeding the world.

The suicide bomber goes to work once, and doesn't come home. The ag pilot gets up every morning at 3:30 AM and goes to work, puts in a full day (often twice, before sunset), then comes home to a good meal, his family, and his own home.

The suicide bomber knows little more of the world around him than what he's told; his skill extends so far as releasing a button or lighting a fuse. The ag pilot is an expert who seeks excellence in the maintenance of his aircraft, the study of the crops, a knowledge of the pests, weeds, insects, and crop diseases he treats, a solid working knowledge of his chemicals, and an intimate understanding of the limits of his aircraft.

The suicide bomber ends his family line in a horrific, fiery terminal statement of ignorance. The ag pilot bounces his grandchildren on his knee while telling them college is a much better choice than ag flying.

The suicide bomber, if successful, is guaranteed to suffer and die on the job. A successful ag pilot, on the other hand, doesn't have a sick day on the job, let alone an injury. A suicide bomber who lives past his first day at work is a failure. An ag pilot who is injured in his career has made a mistake from which he hopes to learn a great lesson, one which he will strive hard to never repeat.

A suicide bomber simply needs to get his work to a general area and hope his target is somewhere in the blast radius. An ag pilot must be precise, within inches of altitude and track for uniform coverage, for professionalism, for the customer, and for his own liability and coverage.

The suicide bomber can never be insured. The ag pilot tries very hard to keep his own insurance rates low.

The suicide bomber hurts society. The ag pilot increases agricultural productivity.

The suicide bomber has good reason to fear his work. The ag pilot is grateful for his job, and embraces it.

Suicide bombing is, by it's nature, intended to be inherently dangerous. Ag flying is not. Suicide bombers dispense political poison and death, ag pilots dispense economic poison and enhance life.

Suicide bombing is highly destructive. Ag flying his highly productive.

Suicide bombers don't carry a first aid kit, because they won't be needing it. Ag pilots do...in the hangar, and at home...because they come home.

If pilots shy away from ag aviation because they think it's dangerous, it may be just as well. It's a small community, and the ones most likely to hurt themselves are the ones that are afraid of the airplane. If you fear the job, then you've created a reason to do so. Like many endeavors in aviation, it's not the job that's dangerous: it's the pilot. If you find ag aviation to be dangerous, then thank you for staying clear, because by doing so, you've made it safer for the rest of us.
 
Apparently avbug hasn't learned the fine art of sarcasm.
 
In 1987 I came across a wrecked ag-plane next to a hangar in GXY. It was a bare fuselage. All I remember are the stampings on the rudder pedals which said Vought and the overwhelming smell of insecticide. Somebody told me the pilot absorbed or forcefully drank a great deal of it during the crash and was in the hospital.

How do you guys lay down that carcinogenic stuff day after day and not die young? I know the passes are made progressively upwind, but I'd fear the toxins more than the low-altitude flying. Has anybody done a toxicology profile of ag pilots? This is the biggest reason I never wanted to do it. Just wondering......
 
Interesting comparison.

A suicide bomber and an ag pilot. Both hold their destiny in their own hand, both control their fate. One, the criminal, makes a decision to terrorize, hurt, and cause death and injury for an insane cause. The other, the ag pilot, elects to work hard for a living, feeding the world.

The suicide bomber goes to work once, and doesn't come home. The ag pilot gets up every morning at 3:30 AM and goes to work, puts in a full day (often twice, before sunset), then comes home to a good meal, his family, and his own home.

The suicide bomber knows little more of the world around him than what he's told; his skill extends so far as releasing a button or lighting a fuse. The ag pilot is an expert who seeks excellence in the maintenance of his aircraft, the study of the crops, a knowledge of the pests, weeds, insects, and crop diseases he treats, a solid working knowledge of his chemicals, and an intimate understanding of the limits of his aircraft.

The suicide bomber ends his family line in a horrific, fiery terminal statement of ignorance. The ag pilot bounces his grandchildren on his knee while telling them college is a much better choice than ag flying.

The suicide bomber, if successful, is guaranteed to suffer and die on the job. A successful ag pilot, on the other hand, doesn't have a sick day on the job, let alone an injury. A suicide bomber who lives past his first day at work is a failure. An ag pilot who is injured in his career has made a mistake from which he hopes to learn a great lesson, one which he will strive hard to never repeat.

A suicide bomber simply needs to get his work to a general area and hope his target is somewhere in the blast radius. An ag pilot must be precise, within inches of altitude and track for uniform coverage, for professionalism, for the customer, and for his own liability and coverage.

The suicide bomber can never be insured. The ag pilot tries very hard to keep his own insurance rates low.

The suicide bomber hurts society. The ag pilot increases agricultural productivity.

The suicide bomber has good reason to fear his work. The ag pilot is grateful for his job, and embraces it.

Suicide bombing is, by it's nature, intended to be inherently dangerous. Ag flying is not. Suicide bombers dispense political poison and death, ag pilots dispense economic poison and enhance life.

Suicide bombing is highly destructive. Ag flying his highly productive.

Suicide bombers don't carry a first aid kit, because they won't be needing it. Ag pilots do...in the hangar, and at home...because they come home.

If pilots shy away from ag aviation because they think it's dangerous, it may be just as well. It's a small community, and the ones most likely to hurt themselves are the ones that are afraid of the airplane. If you fear the job, then you've created a reason to do so. Like many endeavors in aviation, it's not the job that's dangerous: it's the pilot. If you find ag aviation to be dangerous, then thank you for staying clear, because by doing so, you've made it safer for the rest of us.



Awe shucks Avbug, didn't know you had a philosophical side.
:)
 

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