Little River, TX | angus guy - 8/1/2010 20:13
They don't fly that low around here anymore. Most fly 30-40ft over crop. On corn not so bad but beans not much penetration.
At one time I seriously considered becoming certified as a "Crop Duster".
Listening to one really old duster pilot I learned to never fly under wires, unless you have walked under the wires in the day before. Reason being there can be extra wires & a lot lower than you think. Lots of other pilots laughed at him, but no matter he still attende their funerial. This guy started spraying in the late 40's.
He did a number of things that were not really safe but for sure he did not fly under wires.
A different pilot explained to me how the spray is supposed to act in the wing wash, and the nozzles are set up to take advantage of the Tip Vortices. If the wind span is 40 ft then that is the altitude you from which you are supposed to spray. To run with your wheels on the crop the spray tips have to be set up differently. Sounded logical to me. This one was a retired Marine Fighter Pilot.
People flying low enough to catch a fence wire, or crop parts just lost his concentration.
Of course things may have change in the last 35 years but I seriously doubt it. |
Crop Dusters are great pilots, maybe a little crazy too.
