Crop Dusting with Helicopters

SMT
Hmmm this may be a partial msg! My last response headed off into the
ether..... when the nurse rig is loaded and ready, and my loader is
headed home, I do the required paperwork, then take a shower, have a
cool one, listen to some of my favorite music and read a little while
my brain slows down. The daily call to my wife for a chat, then off to
bed for an early wake-up. Normally up at 0400, stick my head out to see
if the wind is blowing, or if its raining. If a little wind, a call to
my loader who lives nearer the target fields to do a wind check and
make the decision to work or go back to bed.
I have a spray log that I fill out for the year with fields/acres
sprayed, WX comments, and at the end of the month will make one entry
in my flight log with hours flown. So much easier that way. During the
winter when I'm bored I'll sometimes take out the stack of annual logs
and riffle thru them to jog my memory. Things like the blade strikes,
wire strikes, bird strikes, and other unusual things that have happened
over the season. It helps me when I write an article and can go back to
specific dates and places. I even have some of the crudely drawn maps
that I did in my first seasons. Those really make me smile... to
realize now what I didn't have a clue about back then and survived it.
I taught quite a few pilots ag flying with both airplanes and
helicopters and nearly all of them are still flying. Several have been
in touch with me to let me know something i taught them had saved their
ass while doing ag work. That makes me really feel good. I doubt there
are more than ...ummmdunno...5000 active ag pilots in the country?
fewer each year in any case. The operators are having a really hard
time finding qualified pilots and I don't know of ANY schools that I'd
recommend to a new ag wannabe. I've been approached over and over to
start one again but not real interested. If you think about it, the new
pilot has to make mistakes to learn. The more experience he gets, the
closer to the ground you fly and other obstacles ergo less room for
error, and less room to correct mistakes. that means, I am on the edge
and letting the student get as far into the mistake as I feel safe
before I take over or correct it. Talk about pressures? Nahhh
I'm simply too old for that kind of stuff anymore.
I did take on a brand new student last year down in Mobile AL where I
live, and took him from zero to his private license in a total time of
41.5 hours. That was airplane. The first time he flew with someone else
was on his checkride and the examiner told me I did a great job with
the youngster who is now working on his commercial with a school.
I have another good friend who wants to be an ag pilot and I keep
telling him he has to move ahead with it while I'm still alive and can
help him get his first seats. He is also airplane and a good stick even
with less than 400 hours. The insurance companies are the ones who kill
the industry and I don't see any changes in the near future.
well I'm off to a leisurely sunday brunch since the wind is still
blowing and I won't fly today. I think I'll drive 20 north and take
some pics of the headwaters of the Mississippi. I once thought of
taking something like a Zodiac inflatable and making the trip the
entire length of the river. Back in my younger days....heh heh. But I
did take my Harley from San Diego to Fairbanks on the ALCAN highway
when i came back from Korea/Japan in 1956. Wouldn't fo it again on a
bet but wouldn't exchange the experience either.
Cheers
Rocky