Duster invasion

A cropdusting operation has set up at the strip I fly out of. They are operating 3 planes and it can get a bit hectic when they are coming and going. I have to be a bit more watchful to stay out of the way but it is an interesting thing to watch. John M

I love watching ag pilots, especially helicopters.

Tony (asmuzsr)

Try this on You Tube: 'More Fletchers at Mt Linton'

Click on the 2 minute version; let me know what you think

regards
gordon.

Now that's just to cool.

Same here . When I see cropdusters I try to pull over and watch. It is like a mini airshow.

Last week things got hectic at a small base 5 miles from here. Two guys from the same company were landing at the same time ..... literally .... one above the other in the blind spots. They both hit the runway at the same time , one plane on top of the other. They were lucky to survive but one pilot burned his arms pretty good.

Wrote off one AgCat and one Dromader. I am going to miss the sound of that 1000 hp radial.

Here's the youtube link Lone Wolf mentioned. Talk about a busy pattern.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjxRZ3mL4xY

.

For several days, I had two different crop-dusters flying off of our airstrip. One's a local guy, who just uses this strip for his northern territory. The other guy is from Delaware. He's the one in the pictures. And his Air Tractor still has a radial engine. The others are all turbines.

It really sounds good when he comes in, and takes off. Although John envies the other guys, since they all have turbines. John uses every bit of our runway loaded. In fact, his ground guy has to watch the road when John takes off to the west. He is barely clearing the road by 4' when the temp warms up.

The first day I was up there, without my camera, there were six dusters flying off our strip. Every 10 minutes, someone either came in, or left. Today, it's just John.

It's kind of nice just having one to worry about now. But, even in the air, I have to be careful. This morning, I met one of the other group's aircraft, coming right at me, about 150 feet below me. He made no effort to change his course, so I did. It's funny, because John had just warned me this morning about watching out for them while I was out cruising around.

The first picture is of John warming up, while his ground guy fills him up. John is on my end of the hangar, so we have to coordinate when I can pull out, and back in.

The second picture is just after John finished filling, and is probably putting in his coordinates for his next sprays.

Thanks Mark. Those pilots do not waste a minute when they are busy. I find it humbling just to watch them. They are all "real" pilots in my opinion.

A lot more turbines up here as well. Many of them are converted so they can burn farm diesel fuel. Something about less tax on farm fuel.

takeoff pics

takeoff pics

I was coming along parallel to the runway just as one of the dusters was starting his takeoff roll and just went alongside taking pictures as I went. They show just how marginal their takeoff is. They removed the fence at the end to avoid running into it. John M

It's interesting that you brought up the fact they use every bit of the runway getting off.

At our strip, there's a road at the west end. If the pilots take off that direction, the ground guy runs out to the road to stop traffic. As the pilot crosses the road, there probably isn't four feet of clearance. When I asked John about it, he said he waits until the last minute, hits his flaps, and that gives him just enough extra lift to clear the road.

The strip they use is 2300 feet long, and they back-taxi to the very last foot of it, turn, and put the throttle to it.

I held my breath every time I watched him take off, and he hasn't missed yet.

It certainly explains why your guys would remove a fence!