The National Agricultural Aviation Association is promoting and celebrating 100 years of agriculture aviation. The article tells how and when the first aerial application was applied and how aerial application has evolved into what it is today.
Aerial application is a major part of agriculture in our county (Desha) and state. Arkansas is second to Texas for aerial applicators in the United States.
On August 3, 1921, Lt. John A Macready flew a Curiss JN-6 which was a World War I surplus plane from McCook Field in Ohio to a nearby catalpa grove while Etienne Dormoy manually dispensed lead arsenate over the grove to kill sphinx moth larvae. In all, the dusting plane passed the grove six times and distributed about 175 pounds on the insecticide. After the short amount of time, it took to apply aerially, less than 1% of the insects remained alive on the catalpa trees after six days of observation of the targeted area.
By the early 1900s boll weevils had become a scourge to American cotton fields. The boll weevil is detrimental to cotton. The boll weevil left little standing in their path and disrupted entire local economies throughout the South. Approximately 614,000 square miles had been infested by the boll weevil by the end of 1922, leaving only 91,000 square miles of cotton-producing territory not infested.
After the successful McCook Field experimental crop-dusting flight many tests were conducted at the USDA’s Delta Lab in Tallulah, Louisiana.
According to a 1929 report from the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, aerial crop dusting of calcium arsenate increased cotton yields an average of 177 pounds per acre from the average untreated yield of 780 pounds per acre a 15% increase in yield.
By the 1930s and 1940s , the first use of aircraft for forestry seeding were used in Honolulu, Hawaii, to seed mountainous forests that had been severely damaged by fire.
Before and after World War II, planes used to spray crops were either civilian or military aircraft modified and equipped to apply liquid for dry materials. One of the most familiar, was the open-cockpit Stearman biplane. After the war, thousands of Stearman biplanes became available on the surplus market. Many of the planes were in like-new condition. Crop dusting companies began snapping them up at prices ranging from $250.00 to $875.00 per plane. Modifications were made from a military plane to a crop-dusting plane. The Stearman became a favorite of many aerial applicators.
Helicopters were used for baiting in reforestation efforts. Baiting involved spreading wheat seeds soaked with a rodenticide (pesticide designed to kill rodents). Helicopters were used in various firefighting efforts.
1947 was the first nighttime aerial application was in California. A Stearman was outfitted with two 450-watt lights.
1950 was the first flight for Ag-1 with a 39-foot wingspan and was powered by Continental E-225 engine. Typical operating speeds were 60-90mph, but it could attain a maximum speed of 115 mph.
Early in the 1950s nighttime aerial applications in the San Joaquin Valley of California expand in order to protect bees during applications of parathion. Equipping ag aircraft with lights and flying at night allowed applicators to protect the bees. Bee’s kills became almost nonexistent.
1951 Leland Snow, the godfather of the modern ag aircraft, begins designing his first ag airplane, the S1. The 23-year-old Snow completed tests flights with the S-1 in 1953. Snow flew the S-1 on dusting and spraying jobs in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and Nicaragua until 1957. He followed the S-1 with models S-2A and S-2B, which were built when Snow moved production facilities to Olney, Texas, in 1958.
Through the 1950s the Piper Aircraft was introduced and later became known as the PA-25 Pawnee. The Pawnee soon became the backbone of Piper’s ag aircraft.
The first use of a fixed-wing ag aircraft for firefighting occurred when a Boeing Stearman was used to help contain a fire in Mendocino National Forest in California. Willows Flying Service removed the spraying valves from the aircraft, and the pilot released the fire retardant from the 170-gallon tank using a hinged fire gate that was opened with a rope. The use of agricultural aircraft for firefighting continued to increase. These aircraft piloted by agricultural aviators from northern California, dumped 83,000 gallons of water and 66,000 gallons of fire retardant on 25 different fires. In 1957 the squadron expanded from 7 to 12 aircraft and their success began to inspire other states to start their own aerial firefighting programs.
The Grumman G-164 is the first aircraft specifically designed by a major aircraft company for agricultural aviation. The purpose-built ag aircraft represented a huge step up in safety and reliability from converted dusters. Grumman originally considered marketing the G-164 aircraft under the name “The Grasshopper.” Dick Read an aviator from Missouri suggested “AG-Cat”, following the naming convention Grumman used of adding the suffix “Cat” to its other aircraft names, such as the F6F Hellcat. Grumman agreed and the Grumman G-164 became known thereafter as the Ag-Cat.
During the years following the rugged biplane’s introduction in 1957, thousands of updated Ag-Cats were built. Schweizer Aircraft Corp. built 2600 Ag-Cats, including 1,730 G-164x and 165As for Grumman between 1959-1980.
Today, while they are no longer manufactured, the Ag-Cat remains a staple of agricultural aviation. Many radial and turbine powered Ag-Cats are still in use. The Ag-Cat’s popularity is due to its 300-plus gallon hopper and ease of flying.
Pratt and Whitney Canada assembled a team of 12 talented young engineers which proved there was a market for 500 shp (shaft horsepower) class turboprop engines in the aircraft market then powered by piston engines. P&W Canada developed the gas turbine engines, smaller than those made by the U.S. parent company. About a decade and a half later, ag aircraft embraced the technology of the turbine engine.
In the 1960s Pawnees and Cessna Ag Wagons were introduced, further increasing aircraft options for the agricultural aviation industry.
The roots ARS (aerial application research) can be traced to the beginnings of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam conflict. Dense jungle vegetation, which provided cover for the enemy forces, posed a serious challenge to air support for U.S. ground forces. The Department of Defense requested USDA-ARS assistance to find ways to defoliate jungle areas in Vietnam. This required research to find the most effective herbicides and spray methods to get effective spray doses into the canopy. As research continued, the USDA-ARS explored new methods of assessing spray penetration and movement. Early flight testing used an Ag-Cat. Wind tunnel testing of aerial technologies was part of the early research efforts, the first testing of this kind in the world.
Leland Snow sells Snow Aeronautical Co. to Rockwell-Standard. The model S-2R was developed during this time and was named “Thrush.”
The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) is founded in 1966. The “recognized public policy advocate for the agricultural aviation industry.” Before this period, much of the industry was organized via regional associations, as well as operators and pilots exchanging information at “fly-ins”
Part 137 was promulgated by the Federal Aviation Administration and put into effect January 1, 1966 establishing new federal regulations for agricultural aircraft operations.
Leland Snow resigns from Rockwell when Thrush manufacturing was moved from Olney, Texas to Albany, Georgia in 1970.
1972 was the year Leland Snow founds Air Tractor Inc. in Olney, Texas. Construction begins on the Air Tractor AT-300, which later became the AT-301.
In the mid-1970’s, turbine engines were introduced. Turbine engines increased the speed of agricultural aircraft, boosting the speed of what was already the fastest way to treat crops. Turbine engine technology represented a quantum leap forward for agricultural aviation. The turbine increases the cruising speed of ag aircraft by 20 mph or greater and allowed the hopper capacity to increase 75% form the largest piston powered aircraft.
The technologies in the 1980s increased the accuracy of aerial applications with automatic flagman, GPS triangulation, vortex generators and pitch pump analysis are introduced. The safety of ag aviation crews by minimizing exposure to agricultural products being applied. Another quantum leap forward in swath guidance technology. GPS automatically calculates the location of the next pass and guides the ag aviator to using a lightbar which consists of a series of lights and numbers that direct the pilot to the pass with great precision. Vortex generators increase the effectiveness of the wing, flaps, and ailerons. They also reduce the stall speed and improve aircraft handling at lower speeds.
A 1994 survey finds that 25% of the agricultural aviation aircraft fleet is equipped with GPS for swath marking, signifying a strong start to a revolution in avionics that will significantly enhance the industry’s precision and effectiveness.
The National Agricultural Aviation Research and Education Foundation (NAAREF) introduces the Professional Aerial Applicators’ Support System (PAASS). PAASS was created to decrease accidents, promote safety, and decrease drift incidents . The first program hit the stage in 1998. Today drift complaints have decreased 25.8%, ag accidents have decreased 25.1%.
Early-to-mid 2000s Strobilurin fungicides were introduced which are useful in controlling a broad spectrum of common plant pathogens on many different crops. Due to their ability to thwart crop diseases and increase crop yields, these fungicides soon became a game-changer for farmers and aerial applicators. Why? Three reasons: its speed, better efficacy, and the fact agricultural aircraft can make applications to mature crops like corn, soybeans, and rice without causing any damage to the crop.
The NAAA launched a public outreach campaign in 2010 to raise an awareness about the worrisome effects of wind energy development on agriculture and aviation. Meteorological evaluation towers (METs) are used to measure and area’s suitability for a wind farm. These towers are erected very quickly and often did not need to be marked, making them a major hazard for low-altitude aviators.
From 2008-2018, there were 22 agricultural aviation accidents from collisions with METs, communication towers, towers supporting power lines, and wind turbines, which resulted in nine fatalities. For all of general aviation, 40 tower-related accidents and incidents resulted in 36 fatalities over the same 11-year period.
Mid-2010-to-Present: Cover crops expands with aerial application of grasses, legumes, small grains, and other low-maintenance crops planted specifically to improve soil health and biodiversity. The best time to apply many cover crops is when the harvestable cash crop is still standing. Aerial application offers the ability to spread the cover crop seed over the existing crop without any disruption to the standing crop.
Night vision goggles expand nighttime aerial applications. The 2019 NAAA survey shows that 7% of aerial applications are made after dark, and night vision goggles are used in 15% of those applications. The two main reasons form making nighttime aerial applications is to protect bees and protect field workers, who are not present at night.
Part 137 operators are embracing a wide range of methods and technologies, such as GPS (utilized by 99% of pilots) and flow-control valve technology, to increase efficiencies and minimize drift.
Drones are a double-edge sword for the aerial application industry. On one hand, drones have become a significant safety obstacle for agricultural pilots operating in the same low-altitude airspace. On the other hand, drones could become a complementary tool aerial applicators adopt for certain smaller spray jobs or to perform aerial imaging for land and crop monitoring purposes.
Today there are 1,560 aerial application businesses treating 127 million acres of cropland or 28% of the commercial cropland in the U.S. Today there are approximately 2.3 aircraft per agricultural aviation operation, or a total of 3,588 aircraft nationwide. In 1962 there were 5,075 aircraft in the U.S. with 2,077 ag aviation operators. In 1962 the Snow S-2 had a maximum hopper capacity of 300 gallons. Today, with turbine equipped aircraft, the average sized aircraft can hold over 500 gallons with 600, 700, and 800-gallon hopper-equipped aircraft are quite common. Air Tractor, and ag aircraft manufacturer in Olney, Texas, is currently working on FAA certification of an aircraft with a hopper capacity of 1,060 gallons.
Precision agriculture will continue to grow in importance and agricultural aviation will become even more critical as agricultural aircraft become remote sensing platforms themselves, able to scout for individual pests at the plant level. Aerial application equipment will become automated able to scout, identify, prescribe solutions and make applications in real time with even greater precision and consideration meteorological conditions and other variables influencing product movement. Automation of the application equipment will enable the pilot to solely focus on flying the aircraft, surveying for obstacles and resulting in even more improved ag aviation safety.
Beginning August 3, 2021, the official 100th anniversary celebration of aerial application will begin in Leesburg, Virginia. Guests will include Congressional members, VIPs in the ag and aviation industry, media, USDA, FAA, and the Department of Transportation will be present for the celebration.
Going forward, aerial applicators will continue to aid growers in reducing biodiversity loss and increasing the productivity and resilience of their farmland.
