Ag flying questions

[capnflyright]

Since there isn't an ag forum I figured I'd post in here. Which schools are still offering ag training? Is the insurance industry working with new pilots entering the 'field'? Are ag pilots in the States beginning to look overseas more often for work?

 

[Waldom]

Hey Capn., I'd love to help but the last time I sprayed row crops was exactly 30 years ago. I have no answers to your questions as regards the current state of the industry.

There are some posters active on this board who are either current ag-pilots or at least their experience is much more recent than mine. Hopefully they will respond when they get a chance. One reason you haven't gotten a useful response yet is timing. The season has started in many parts of the country and as you can imagine, a year's worth of work is sometimes compressed into five months in this business.

 

[avbug]

You're probably wasting your time if you're looking at an ag school. You'll find some that will tell you that you can go get a job after going to an ag school, but it's a very long shot.

Depending on your experience, I see that Bighorn Airways in Sheridan, WY, was recently looking for a pilot to fly light twins, who could do a couple months in the summer in an Air Tractor AT-301. You might contact them and see if there's a place for you.

I don't know a lot of ag pilots that travel overseas for work. The ag world outside the US is generally more bleak than it is here.

Depending on your experience level, there's forestry work here in the winter, and row crops, speciality work, seeding, or fire in the summer.

Insurance doesn't really care if you've been to a school. You come out with a few hours of supervised experience in an ag airplane...which doesn't count for much. Most ag insurance wants a thousand hours of ag to start. A lot of ag operators are using trubine equipment these days, and regardless of what's being flown, you can't really get a checkout in the airplane. Your first time on your own is your first checkout...done by yourself, and tha'ts a gamble, especially for a new, unproven, inexperienced pilot.

The flying is really the short end of the stick, meaning it's the easy part. The experience goes beyond simply flying straight lines or holding a constant height. Drift control, crop knowledge, an understanding of entimology and plant disease, etc, are important parts of the job, as is a good understanding and skillset of the maintenance aspects of your operation. The ability to fly the airplane and fix it goes a long way.

Drift is a very big issue; mess up a crop or get a drift claim on another farmer's crop, and the operator could be put out of business with the ensuing law suit or damaged reputation..just one bad job can not only ruin the career but destroy the company....and a farmer who won't pay because there are skips in his field, when you just sprayed it with thousand-dollar a gallon chemical, will do the same thing. Think about the risk an operator might take employing you with that trust.

Ag Flight out of Bainbridge, GA, is still doing ag training, I think. If you're really convinced a school is what you want to do, you might check into them.

 

[bugchaser]

I'll second what Avbug said. I personally think that the schools are a waste of time. All you are going to get is some time in an old worn out airplane. All the promises of hooking you up with a job are pretty worthless. This industry is all about who you know and relationships. All the risk that goes with putting someone in an airplane requires lots of trust. The only way you can get that is to build it over time. And for what its worth, some of the best pilots I know are not very good at ag work. Flying is the easy part. Good luck.

 

[avbug]

AG PILOT WANTED. Excellent first job. Cessna. Must be mechanically inclined. Be able to fly GPS. Corn in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. Contact Mick at [email protected]

Fresh out of Trade A Plane. It's a little late in the year to start looking (try November through February), but TAP is a common source for advertised ag jobs.

HELICOPTER AG PILOT WANTED, must have R44 time, turbine fixed wing a plus, be able to fly GPS, need references. [email protected]

Go here for some conventional gear experience:

QUALITY TAILWHEEL CFI Needed for Touring Warbird operation. (888) 743-3311; [email protected]

TAILWHEEL/ AEROBATIC CFI wanted for T-6 flight school in Kissimmee, FL. Prefer 1500-TT, 500 tailwheel and require current CFI. T-6 time not needed. Full-time position. Fax (407) 870-2295.
[email protected]

 

[agrinaut]

Good info in the previous posts. Learn to do it right. A bad reputation will follow you a long time in this career. It is a pretty small, tight knit community.

 

[MTpilot]

One requirement.

Stay alive and you'll have a great career.

 

[wilky10]

The first way you can start is taking the Commercial Applicator test and Aerial Application tests in the state you want to work. I found an operator that took a chance with me. It took me one and half years working for him as a mechanic, then he started my spraying in an agcat with a radial. I would get myself a copy of the Ag Air Update. They are always looking for pilots. Most operators would rather train you themselves.

 

[dustrpilot]

What Wilky and Avbug said. I would add that getting your first ag job is probably harder than getting any other flying job.

 

[psysicx]

Any good companies in El Centro?