There was some talk in another thread recently about ag flying. The thread was more about time building, but it got me to thinking, how does one get into the ag flying as far as (a) the business aspects of it and (b) accumulating the flying experience to be able to fly an ag plane?
Ag flying
- Thread starter Icaro
- Start date
flyguy
Well-Known Member
Ag flying looks like it would be a lot of fun. Not the safest job in the world, and it would be a lot of hard work, but I think it could be very rewarding. Its kind of hard to immagine getting into it for timebuilding though. Seems more of a career type thing. That'd be like becomming a farmer so you can get a tan.
Well, maybe not quite like that, but I think you get the point.
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Beats me, but whatever happened to AgCatMan? I haven't seen one of his posts in a while. He'd be the one to give you advice on this subject, PM him perhpas.
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It's a pretty busy time of year for the AgCatMan, I'd wager.
Try reading through his posts. There's some good information in there.
AgCatMan's posts
Beats me, but whatever happened to AgCatMan? I haven't seen one of his posts in a while. He'd be the one to give you advice on this subject, PM him perhpas.
[/ QUOTE ]
It's a pretty busy time of year for the AgCatMan, I'd wager.
Try reading through his posts. There's some good information in there.
AgCatMan's posts
agcatman
New Member
Ag flying is a difficult nut to crack. Most guys that I know who fly ag were "broken into" the business by an experienced pilot. There are some flight schools that teach ag, but to be quite truthful, when you go out on that first revenue producing job it's all you. And that can be a bit hairy. <---understatement
It's a multi-discipline occupation, spanning everything from flying (obviously), to agriculture to entomology to botany to chemistry to mechanics to plumbing to small engine repair. If you think I'm joking you oughta see an ag-pilot howl when a $300 Briggs & Stratton 2" water pump goes south and keeps a $500,000 aircraft on the ground. Hehe, it ain't pretty. Then of course there are the PR aspects, the business decisions, the accounting, the collecting, ad nauseum. Hey, take my word for it. Flying is, without a doubt, the easiest part of my job.
Go to Ag Air Update.
This is the trade magazine for the industry and they have some nice packets made up that will give a fledgling ag pilot a lot of good starting information.
Think long and hard about it though. It's not a decision to take lightly.
It's a multi-discipline occupation, spanning everything from flying (obviously), to agriculture to entomology to botany to chemistry to mechanics to plumbing to small engine repair. If you think I'm joking you oughta see an ag-pilot howl when a $300 Briggs & Stratton 2" water pump goes south and keeps a $500,000 aircraft on the ground. Hehe, it ain't pretty. Then of course there are the PR aspects, the business decisions, the accounting, the collecting, ad nauseum. Hey, take my word for it. Flying is, without a doubt, the easiest part of my job.
Go to Ag Air Update.
This is the trade magazine for the industry and they have some nice packets made up that will give a fledgling ag pilot a lot of good starting information.
Think long and hard about it though. It's not a decision to take lightly.
tonyw
Well-Known Member
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Flying is, without a doubt, the easiest part of my job.
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You know, reading the perspectives from everyone, seems like that's true for all the jobs in aviation. The flying is easy and fun. The rest of it? Well, that's a royal pain in the butt.
And one of these days, I will take you up on that offer for a ride in that open cockpit "toy" of yours!
Flying is, without a doubt, the easiest part of my job.
[/ QUOTE ]
You know, reading the perspectives from everyone, seems like that's true for all the jobs in aviation. The flying is easy and fun. The rest of it? Well, that's a royal pain in the butt.
And one of these days, I will take you up on that offer for a ride in that open cockpit "toy" of yours!