Spraying Rice: A Day in the Life of an Ag Pilot

[JimBarnhill6]

Great video!

[EarlRausch]

Thanks for the great post !

I was a flag man back in the 70's but my guess you use GPS

[Weneedanswers]

how much are you paid? I want become an ag pilot

[tjodalv44]

@Weneedanswers

It depends greatly upon the location as well as how good a season it is. It can range from 30k to over 100k, give or take.

[dshutov]

@tjodalv44  for the year or season?

[CaptWindShear]

Now THAT'S the flying job I originally wanted, and why I learned on gliders and PA-18's to start with. What did I end up on? Bloody Anime Robot Hero A320's. So boring... so tedious.

[pilotjake68]

Where do you operate out of?

[DanTheCaptain]

3:40

you got pwnd by a bird!

[troutslayer52101]

03:40 *SPLAT!* lol.

[sundaymission]

i hope your mixers wear their ear muffs with those garrett's howling in the background! haha...noisy buggers!

[frank2398]

I have to say that you crop dusting pilots are simply amazing! You have breathtaking skill and nerves of steel! Do you happen to have any videos that explains that guidance system device that you use?

[darbyandquimby]

Excellent video! It sure has changed alot since I did it back in the early 80's with a Cessna Ag Truck. No turbines, GPS, or air conditioning back then.

[PICLex]

Great! How tough is it to get a start in ag flyng?

[skilletthandle]

What do you change when you go from 10 gal to 5 gal work?

What size droplets do you get when you do that low volume, for instance 5 gal an acre.

Great video and thanks for sharing.

[stvfd1805]

looks like the same plane thats crop dusting the field next to my house right now

[walkintall67]

AWESOME

[RippedWookie]

Great video. How often do you do this? Once a week?

[tjodalv44]

@RippedWookie

During the spring/summer months they fly 5-6 days a week most of the time. Sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the season, weather, business, etc.

[RippedWookie]

@tjodalv44 Morning to Dusk 5-6 days a week... reminds me of my work week when I was landscaping.

[Piperdriver70]

Awesome video, I love to see talented Ag Pilots doin' their thing.Thanks for posting.

[davedebekker]

Too bad its forbidden since the 90's in Holland. Good awesome memories when i was little, back in those days's planes were still flying here in my Province. Good video and very good pilot skills. Gr Dave

[FlyinTruckr]

Thats a great video. I enjoyed watching some good flying out in rice country. Good job. Have safe flights!!

[Mavrk6]

all in a days work.

[MLewisUT]

many G's pulled in those turns?

[IceCreamChic11]

My daddy does that:))

[edgar5001]

This looks like a cool job to have.... what do you need to do it ?...how much do you make a year starting out? What are you spraying?

[aaronz741]

an ag pilot's best friend is windex when we're on the ground between loads......lol

[Marsx4]

WooHoo. I wanna ride. Do these planes have passenger seats?

[larzakajugganot]

@Marsx4

nope

[PopTheGlock423]

Making that moneyyyyyy! What a great video! But you didn't film what goes on after the planes are away. Grilling out and drinking beer at the hanger!

[MOJONIXION]

Put a couple of machine guns on it and you have a poor mans Stuka/ A-10

[tjodalv44]

@MOJONIXION

Air Tractor actually is marketing a militarized version complete with gun pods, bombs, rockets, etc!

[tjodalv44]

@MOJONIXION

Air Tractor actually is marketing a militarized version complete with gun pods, bombs, rockets, etc!

[adfbazebzeb]

@tjodalv44

Back in the early 90's (90-93) Ayres had a militarized plane with a 5 blade prop, 2-seat, FLIR and carried the same armaments that an Apache gunship carried. It was also outfitted with a variety of nice surveillance goodies as well.....

[adriansi1111]

what engine has that plane? It seems to be a single shaft turboprop rather than the most used P&W PT6 engine.

[summitbgr]

What is that unit on the cowling with the red and green lights?

[glendeco]

I would take this over being stuck on the freeway any day!

[jg875102]

i've really wondered if ur going at those speeds how big are the nozzles on those sprayers?

[adfbazebzeb]

What year is that Turbo Thrush.... I worked at Ayres in the early 90's and this video brought back some great memories..... Great video too....

[Cunninghamn8r]

do you have to have a commercial licence to do this? and are there any added endorsements?

[tjodalv44]

@Cunninghamn8r You do have to have a commercial license and a commercial pesticide/herbicide applicator's license for the state that you're going to work in.

[christianvonammon]

very nice video!!! my dream is to fly one of these turbo birds!!!

congrat!!

[TonyAirlines]

And THIS is why I want my Commercial with a tailwheel endorsement!

[lekingdom]

SUPER VIDEO!!!

[fennerdesouza]

uaw!! belo video! de sol a sol!!

[HeavyPantolones]

Whoo, great video, made the hair stand up on the back of my neck a couple times. I see crop dusters up here in the Willamette Valley (Oregon) from time to time, and I've never failed to be impressed by the flying skills I've seen.

[1stLtDavis]

Whoever is on the ground is getting showered in that stuff. What did you hit at 3:43, a bird lol?

[tjodalv44]

@1stLtDavis

Nah, it was just a big bug. The way the camera is placed makes it look alot bigger than it was.

[jsg1965]

amandatxgirl can i ask who was your father .my first job was flagging for m&m air around 1981.i was about 14 worst/funnest job i ever had .those pilots were something else .

[flyboyzach07]

Great video man, I love the inside views. Looking forward to going to Bainbridge, GA to the Ag pilot school!!! Can't wait, ready to get my feet wet.

[careyhigh1]

Now thats a pilot!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[amandatxgrl]

My father owns a crop dusting service in Winnie, Texas.....To all Ag pilots and their families.....HARD WORKIN MEN....

[agcatdriver]

@amandatxgrl Wouldn't be M & M Dusters, would it? Are they still in business?

[amandatxgrl]

No, my daddy own Twin County Air Ag. INC in Winnie, yes M & M are still in business the GREAT men......Daddy I love u but any man who does what u do is a good man...lol

[amandatxgrl]

@agcatdriver yes M & M, they are still in business, my daddy own Twin County Air Ag. INC out of Winnie, Texas.....My father flew for the when I was a little girl..

[Catumnal]

Thanks for this,Great stuff .....

[mickeyrubicon]

totally awe inspiring video, great music, great flying, just dont get much better than this

[dpcmrmoore]

Great video, great editing!

[DColcla]

very nice, man. and I just loved the music. Wonder if you could filter out the plane background noise? Naa, great like it is............

[WailingFungus]

How much more of a chance does a pilot have with breaking into this career if he's got his A&P?

[tx2sturgis]

Hey, GET A REAL JOB!!! ;-)

Kidding of course. Great video. Wonder if you'd get some shots of the instruments for the next video? Love to watch the needles wiggle!

[twoaxis]

0:41 the oil smoke, how did he get that, because when the enginge is running you can't just inhibit the combustion?!

[tjodalv44]

The smoker uses a dedicated oil tank and not oil from the engine. It is released onto the hot exhaust pipe where it turns to smoke. Crop dusters use this when they need to get an accurate picture of which way the wind is blowing before spraying a field.

[twoaxis]

@tjodalv44

ah, thank you very much, i wondered wherefor they need a smoker, even if they are nearly airshowpilots

[mrkhartfield]

@twoaxis The boil that is used is a parrafin based oil the is not combustable. It only makes white smoke.

[twoaxis]

@mrkhartfield

unfortunately i'm not longer able to watch this video-.-

thanx alot, i thing you can burn parrafin as well, but you have to heat it too much, so it doens't catch fire at the exhaust,

[mrkhartfield]

@twoaxis

[ozpilotgirl]

You must have incredibly large testicles to do that kind of flying every day. Precision flying, low flying, pretty steep turns so close to the ground, managing to avoid tree-tops at the end of fields. Superb flying :)))

[flanksteak1]

So how many acres can you spray in an hour without any obstructions to negotiate around, or at least minimal obstructions?

[tjodalv44]

There are lots of variables, very important ones being field size and shape. Others could include location, gallons per acre, swath, etc. Around here, the fields are relatively small compared to other parts of the country . Depending on those variables, around 500 per hour acres is good.

[flanksteak1]

Would one of these guys spray all day?

I imagine you're at your limit at 500 before you have to go back and fill-up.

[tjodalv44]

Again, it depends. Sometimes they spray very low volumes at a fine mist and have to return for fuel before they run out of chemical. But when fertilizing a big field the hopper is empty after 10 minutes or so, so they have to have a quick turnaround there. Check out my Thrush fertilizing video if you want to see more about that.

[flanksteak1]

Holy Crap!

10 minutes!

I saw a video on the Sat-Loc, pretty slick.

[bullthrush]

A nice juicy one at 3:43.

[muhuskerfan32]

3:42

Gross!

[agcatdriver]

Where are you based at in SC Texas? I fly pipeline patrol down that way every week... See alot of ya'll flyin down that way. I flew Cats over in Arkansas for several seasons a few years back. I try to stay in touch with the industry and would love to get back to it... I miss doin' the back n fourth flying!

[tjodalv44]

Eagle Lake

[agcatdriver]

@tjodalv44 Okay, I know where you're at. I fly a 30" line that comes down through the area... runs right on the East side of Houston Executive airport, on down W. of Rosenburg and Richmond, and ends up at a terminal at the Freeport docks. Might drop over and see you guys sometime if you dont mind having a visitor!

[tjodalv44]

Cool! I (the video maker) don't live there anymore, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind, just say you saw the videos on youtube and they'll know what you're talking about! But during this time of year, its doubtful anyone will be there. Wait till spring or so to be sure!

[betterdenu452]

what ratings do you need to hold to do this?

[tjodalv44]

You need a commercial pilot's license as well as a commercial applicator license for whatever state you'll be in. If you fly a turbine, usually you'll need a certain amount of turbine time to meet insurance requirements. If you haven't been grandfathered you will also need a tailwheel endorsement.

[betterdenu452]

@tjodalv44 and i thought it was a starting job:P how much do you get payed if you dont mind me asking. ps looks so dam fun

[tjodalv44]

Pay varies widely depending on the season. I'm not real sure about the range so I don't want to give you any wrong info, but its enough to make a decent living!

[betterdenu452]

@tjodalv44 thats all i needed:P

[agcatdriver]

@betterdenu452 Yeah, nothing could be further from the truth... not a "time building" job at all. Some of the most highly skilled pilots you'll ever meet.

[agpilottidwell]

wheres this at??

[tjodalv44]

South Central Texas

[truenocruz22]

demasiado bueno

[jeffgladish]

Wow, I shoot skydiving video for a living as well as fly jumpers & I've never even come close to shooting / editing anything as sweet as this!!!!

[NCN1970]

I like :)

[angeliusus]

What's the name of that song? It's really good. Excellent video tjodalv44. Visit my channel. Greats

[tjodalv44]

Thanks, y'all!

The song is Throttleneck by Brad Paisley.

[angeliusus]

Thank's a lot tjodalv44, it's a great song complementing an excellent video.

[JorgeMonrealG97]

great video, what's the name of the song?

[timzim58]

great vid

[tjodalv44]

Thanks everyone for the posative comments! Glad y'all liked the video!

[sepebarradas]

the oscar goes to......

[June062007]

Best yet. Flying & photography very professional, a credit to you for all the effort put into both.

[flingwing76]

Very nice video! I also like the bug splatt. Spray pattern looked good. You must be running higher gallonage?

[bigroybr69]

great video

[braindeadio]

Great one.Well done

[EXAir113]

Amazing!

[vandelschumy]

Incredible video man...it´s just awesome for real!

[Nickjc1989]

Mason, I personally like how the bug splat goes w/ the music. Ha : )

[Smith1519]

this one is worthy of 5 stars...fo sho