Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any spray pilots on this forum?

I watched a helo spray the cut on out hunting club last fall. There are three small creeks with tall trees cutting across the cut. The pilot was flying fast about half the height of the climber I was sitting in. It was amazing watching him manage the sprayer on and off while hoping over the creeks. The pilot didn’t get a drop on the creeks as far as I could tell. The crew did the whole 400+ acre cut in less than two hours. Spent more time landing and loading the sprayer tank than flying it seemed. Amazing that the deer just 200 yards away paid no attention at all to the helicopter. I was aggravated and stressed the whole time.

Mordecai "Deke" Walker was my next door neighbor when I lived in rural Leslie Georgia.

Deke had an air strip across the road from the house. He flew a bi-wing a Agcat. That plane was Unreal on power. I would watch him take off... full power brake... 100 yards of runway and then straight into a vertical climb. This was empty of course... as he used to say to shake the dew off of the Wings in the morning.

I asked him how many hours he had one time and he told me he'd quit keeping a log book at 20,000.

I also asked him if he had ever crashed. He said absolutely not that he had never crashed... but his plane had disappointed him on two diffeerent occasions.

Like many I would sit there captivated by his flying skill. No matter how many times I watched I never saw him fly over the power lines. Every single time he flew under.

Two tragic events occurred.

Once, a young school-age girl that was waiting for her morning School Bus was watching him... fascinated she stepped into the street in front of her house for a better look. She was hit and killed by a car.

The local farmers in rural Georgia could not always pay their bill. Deke signed a contract with United States Department of Agriculture US Forest Service.

As part of the contract he was required to invest in expense GPS equipment. He also had to front the cost of all chemicals he used. The contract was also two states away and he had to provide Room & Board for himself, and his wife and son. Plus airstrip fees.

The contract went perfect and his work was exceptional. But for some reason the government inspector jacked him around and withheld his payment for a year. He had borrowed money against his plane his airstrip and his home. He lost everything he had to foreclosure.

Another great man and great family taken out the by malfeasance of government.

24,000 hours worth!

You'd never pass a cognitive test....that's for certain!

Spent. 29 years as a cropduster,from age 24-53.
There were a few times that I used every molecule of my ability but never did bend one.
Most dangerous part was driving to the airport!
Flew C188,Weatherly,Airtractor and Ag Cat,liked the Ag Cat the best,by far.

Iraq was sporty enough, never had the desire to do ANY Ag flying.

Not spraying crops but we used to load one up with about a million sockeye fry and the pilot would dump them into the lake. Took off of the highway. He's had some close calls over the years with moose running across the road in front of him. I have a bunch of pics on my laptop at home, I'll post em if I remember.

This is what I could find on a quick google search.

/image/I000053sgXvEN0sc]Fish transport plane

Good pilots.

Lousy manners though.


You are required to do the proper pattern.....because they wont.

That's a bunch!

Had a plane doing the neighbors beans the other day. Great fun watching him , very skilled...almost scary.

This morning just across the road they sprayed the beans with a helicopter. Cool, but not near as exciting.

A rain during the summer in Chelan can burst the cherries. After even the slightest rain Chelan sounds like Saigon in 1970 with helicopters flying over the orchards blowing the rain off the fruit.

Seems like a good job for a drone.

Well worth the money.We have to have our sugar bush spayed every spring for tent worms or it would be a bad spring for making syrup

My friends dad flew a helicopter years ago and did a bunch of spraying. He asked me if I wanted to fly with him when he went spraying and I did not turn it down. It was about 35yrs ago and I still remember it like it was yesterday...holy crap what a rush it was!! I think I was about 14yrs old at the time. The guy also flew medical helicopters.

no but i've crop dusted a lot of farts in the cubical area of my old job. i love to see the recoil and look of revulsion when some innocent walks into my wall of colon blow.

I used to spray and dust with helicopters. It was dirty, dangerous and exhausting but it was one of the most satisfying jobs I ever had. I could tell instantly if I was doing a good job or if I needed to adjust my technique. Sprayed mostly orchards. Most orchards had poplars on 3 sides and power lines on the fourth.

I dried a lot of cherries. One of the most boring jobs I ever did with a helicopter. Would start up the Yakima valley and follow the thunderstorms down the valley.

Ironbender, I didn't know you were a crop duster..... there is another from here in La. He's the fellow I was thinking of.

........... Never thought of that. The way drones are being utilized for so many things now I'd bet that the future of crop dusting would involve a drone operator sitting under an umbrella at one end of the field working his control panel or whatever they call it.

I'd imagine the drones would just be programmed with GPS coordinates and the person would just set them up and take then down. I bet they could spray at night when the winds are calmer.