Crop Dusting with Helicopters

Well we had heavy T'storms last night but now it looks good. waiting
for the plants to dry a little so the chemical sticks instead of
running off. I've asked at the National Aerial Applicators Association
annual convention several times over the years about how many ag pilots
there were and 5K is about right. Perhaps that many more foreign. small
pool any way you look at it! And we always look around at all the gray
haired farts and wonder where the new blood is. I think the average age
is 50'ish. As for aircraft, turbines are slowly taking over. There are
a number of conversions done by Soloy on the Bell 47 and Hiller 12E and
are for the most part good working machines. expensive but good
workers. Parts are a problem and will continue until someone bites the
bullet and starts new production. Several attempts have been made but
none lasted that long. Market is too small to really support the heavy
investment. That is the primary reason Robinson has been so successful.
There were some guys up in the NW who did some wheat spraying with R-22
but I haven't heard much about them.
An airplane can outwork the helicopter because of bigger loads. They
can do 2-400 acres per hour while I am happy to get a steady 100 acres
per hour. Aairplanes need big fields to support them. but they also
need a lot of turnaround area and people don't like the noise of low
flying aircraft. I can get into a field, spray it and never leave the
confines of the target field until I depart. In this area there are a
lot of lakes and summer homes where the folks like the solitude and
copmplain if ANYONE/thing makes too much noise. they are mostly city
people who come up for weekends or vacations.
Gotta get my old butt in gear and go make some money. It looks like
another fly till dark (2100)
Cheers
Rocky