Agricultural Flying (Crop dusting) as a career

twotwowoo

twotwowoo

New Member
Disclaimer: I have no real interest in returning to the aviation industry. I'm happily employed in something else, and any flying I do would be years down the road.

I've always been interested in cropdusting/agricultural flying. The quiet rural lifestyle, being home every night, farming focus, aerobatic maneuvers, and single-engine piston planes all appeal to me.

My main question is, how do you get into it? Obviously, you need a commercial pilot's license and tailwheel endorsement. However, what else do you need as far as hours, college education, special ratings/licenses/endorsements, years of experience? Do you need an instrument rating, since most ag flying is done VFR in Class G? Is it a fairly in-demand field, or is it like everything else in aviation, where it's all in "who you know."

There really isn't a lot of good info on crop-dusting out there, and I'm hoping some experienced aerial applicators can fill me in.
 
This question has been asked before and it seems like its all who you know. Basically from what I have gathered from local operators is you have to work 2 years or so on the ground before they will even think about letting you in the airplane.
 
Run a search on T-carts posts. He has written about this a lot, or run a search on "Ag" or "Thrush" or "Air Tractor". He has made some posts on here that have been really informative.
 
twotwowoo said:
Disclaimer: I have no real interest in returning to the aviation industry. I'm happily employed in something else, and any flying I do would be years down the road.

I've always been interested in cropdusting/agricultural flying. The quiet rural lifestyle, being home every night, farming focus, aerobatic maneuvers, and single-engine piston planes all appeal to me.

My main question is, how do you get into it? Obviously, you need a commercial pilot's license and tailwheel endorsement. However, what else do you need as far as hours, college education, special ratings/licenses/endorsements, years of experience? Do you need an instrument rating, since most ag flying is done VFR in Class G? Is it a fairly in-demand field, or is it like everything else in aviation, where it's all in "who you know."

There really isn't a lot of good info on crop-dusting out there, and I'm hoping some experienced aerial applicators can fill me in.
Click to expand...

Hi twotwowoo, The best way to get in (in my opinion) is to hire on with an established, reputable operator and learn the business from him or her. This is going to let you see and learn the ground operations involved and this will also let the operator see your work habits and how well you will fit into his operation.

Then, if you hang in there till now, the flying part should be a very structured approach to get started. Sort of like sticking your toe in the water to see how hot it is. The insurance company will require you to follow a curriculum. This usually requires the student to fly X amount of hours in the ag plane to get a feel for it. Next will be X amount of hours at 50 gallons, and then continue working on up from there. Usually until you get to X amount of actual ag hrs, you will not be permitted to do herbicide work. Maybe also a stipulation of no flying past a windspeed of a certain amount. This is just an example of a "program". A lot of operators have broken in a lot of new guys with similar programs.

There are a few ag schools scattered around the country. I didn't attend one and really don't know anybody that has so I can't speak to their effectiveness. I'm sure though that they probably do a good job at what they are doing.

Another option is to buy your own plane and get started. Some guys have made a go with it doing it this way, but others have not.

The only certs that you have to have is the commercial with a part 137 signoff. The operator that teaches you can do this sign-off. No instrument rating is required and you will have to be licensed with the state ag dept in the state that you work in. You do have to have the TW endorsement if you haven't been flying TW very long.

Personally, I love this part of aviation. I do work in a rural area and get to sleep in my bed every night. I've been in it for thirty two years and still love the lifestyle. Yes, we put in very long hours during the "rush part" of the season, but we get to be off all winter. I haven't done anything much but hunt since mid September and won't go back to work till mid April.

Some areas of the country make a fair wage. Some areas of the country, where the farmer depends on the airplane, make good money.

It is a great way to make a living!

Hope this answers some of your questions.
 
t-cart said:
Hi twotwowoo, The best way to get in (in my opinion) is to hire on with an established, reputable operator and learn the business from him or her. This is going to let you see and learn the ground operations involved and this will also let the operator see your work habits and how well you will fit into his operation.

Then, if you hang in there till now, the flying part should be a very structured approach to get started. Sort of like sticking your toe in the water to see how hot it is. The insurance company will require you to follow a curriculum. This usually requires the student to fly X amount of hours in the ag plane to get a feel for it. Next will be X amount of hours at 50 gallons, and then continue working on up from there. Usually until you get to X amount of actual ag hrs, you will not be permitted to do herbicide work. Maybe also a stipulation of no flying past a windspeed of a certain amount. This is just an example of a "program". A lot of operators have broken in a lot of new guys with similar programs.

There are a few ag schools scattered around the country. I didn't attend one and really don't know anybody that has so I can't speak to their effectiveness. I'm sure though that they probably do a good job at what they are doing.

Another option is to buy your own plane and get started. Some guys have made a go with it doing it this way, but others have not.

The only certs that you have to have is the commercial with a part 137 signoff. The operator that teaches you can do this sign-off. No instrument rating is required and you will have to be licensed with the state ag dept in the state that you work in. You do have to have the TW endorsement if you haven't been flying TW very long.

Personally, I love this part of aviation. I do work in a rural area and get to sleep in my bed every night. I've been in it for thirty two years and still love the lifestyle. Yes, we put in very long hours during the "rush part" of the season, but we get to be off all winter. I haven't done anything much but hunt since mid September and won't go back to work till mid April.

Some areas of the country make a fair wage. Some areas of the country, where the farmer depends on the airplane, make good money.

It is a great way to make a living!

Hope this answers some of your questions.
Click to expand...

I really don't like you now...:D Since I moved to Houston from Arkansas three years ago I have been able to go hunting only one weekend...
 
t-cart said:
Hi twotwowoo, The best way to get in (in my opinion) is to hire on with an established, reputable operator and learn the business from him or her. This is going to let you see and learn the ground operations involved and this will also let the operator see your work habits and how well you will fit into his operation.

Then, if you hang in there till now, the flying part should be a very structured approach to get started. Sort of like sticking your toe in the water to see how hot it is. The insurance company will require you to follow a curriculum. This usually requires the student to fly X amount of hours in the ag plane to get a feel for it. Next will be X amount of hours at 50 gallons, and then continue working on up from there. Usually until you get to X amount of actual ag hrs, you will not be permitted to do herbicide work. Maybe also a stipulation of no flying past a windspeed of a certain amount. This is just an example of a "program". A lot of operators have broken in a lot of new guys with similar programs.

There are a few ag schools scattered around the country. I didn't attend one and really don't know anybody that has so I can't speak to their effectiveness. I'm sure though that they probably do a good job at what they are doing.

Another option is to buy your own plane and get started. Some guys have made a go with it doing it this way, but others have not.

The only certs that you have to have is the commercial with a part 137 signoff. The operator that teaches you can do this sign-off. No instrument rating is required and you will have to be licensed with the state ag dept in the state that you work in. You do have to have the TW endorsement if you haven't been flying TW very long.

Personally, I love this part of aviation. I do work in a rural area and get to sleep in my bed every night. I've been in it for thirty two years and still love the lifestyle. Yes, we put in very long hours during the "rush part" of the season, but we get to be off all winter. I haven't done anything much but hunt since mid September and won't go back to work till mid April.

Some areas of the country make a fair wage. Some areas of the country, where the farmer depends on the airplane, make good money.

It is a great way to make a living!

Hope this answers some of your questions.
Click to expand...

Thanks t-cart! It does answer a lot of my questions. It definitely sounds like something I would be interested in. The long hours wouldn't bother me, as being off all winter and living in a rural paradise would more than make up for it. The money isn't a big deal, as I live a fairly modest lifestyle and don't see that changing.

How would you get in contact with a reputable operator? I'd be looking to work in North Dakota. Is there some sort of agricultural aviation organization that I could join?

Right now I'm a PPL with about 130 hours (haven't logged my last few flights). If I don't get the instrument, I can knock out the commercial in 120 hours under part 61. I plan on saving up money over the next year, and then maybe I'll consider going for the commercial.

Also, I hate to ask this, but is the job fairly secure? I know nothing is certain in aviation, but it seems like you're almost guaranteed a furlough at an airline. Is there a significant chance of getting "furloughed"/laid off from an ag pilot job?

Thanks.
 
I dont really ever post on here that often but i thought id give my 2 cents on this topic. I am currently working my way into this business and worked on a ground crew in northern California last year and will be doing so again this year. And I will tell you this, for those 2 and half months during the rush it is HARD WORK!!! During my time working there last summer i couldnt tell you if it was monday or friday, you loose track, you live by sun up and sun down. The operation i work for seeds, sprays, and fertilizes 35,000 acres of rice. We work 14 hours a day 7 days a week. For those 14 hours the plane is running and is only shut down to switch from spraying equipment to spreading equipment. Being on the ground and learning the ropes is hard work but you really learn the business and most important you learn what the pilots are doing and how they are doing it. My experience is only with rice and i dont know how it is with other crops but i honestly dont know how one would get into this without working on the ground first.

That being said, this is my situation and the route im taking to get a seat. I went to ATP and finished in 2008. I have a job flying construction contractors in a c-182 and i am also a welder. I dont have much of a desire to teach flying so i have not pursued that route of building time. Also after getting an idea of what working for airlines is all about i have decided that crop dusting is for me. I like to work hard and i love to fly. My plan to get a seat is to spend this season on the ground and the owner has offered to fly with me in a cub to show me the ropes when he has time. Depending on how much he is able to teach me, when the season is over i plan to attend a crop dusting school, after which he has offered to help me find a seat for the later seasons with operators he knows around the country. Hopefully this will all work out but either way i will spend one more summer in the rice fields with fertilizer burning my eyes and one hell of a tan!!!!
 
GLAS11 said:
I dont really ever post on here that often but i thought id give my 2 cents on this topic. I am currently working my way into this business and worked on a ground crew in northern California last year and will be doing so again this year. And I will tell you this, for those 2 and half months during the rush it is HARD WORK!!! During my time working there last summer i couldnt tell you if it was monday or friday, you loose track, you live by sun up and sun down. The operation i work for seeds, sprays, and fertilizes 35,000 acres of rice. We work 14 hours a day 7 days a week. For those 14 hours the plane is running and is only shut down to switch from spraying equipment to spreading equipment. Being on the ground and learning the ropes is hard work but you really learn the business and most important you learn what the pilots are doing and how they are doing it. My experience is only with rice and i dont know how it is with other crops but i honestly dont know how one would get into this without working on the ground first.

That being said, this is my situation and the route im taking to get a seat. I went to ATP and finished in 2008. I have a job flying construction contractors in a c-182 and i am also a welder. I dont have much of a desire to teach flying so i have not pursued that route of building time. Also after getting an idea of what working for airlines is all about i have decided that crop dusting is for me. I like to work hard and i love to fly. My plan to get a seat is to spend this season on the ground and the owner has offered to fly with me in a cub to show me the ropes when he has time. Depending on how much he is able to teach me, when the season is over i plan to attend a crop dusting school, after which he has offered to help me find a seat for the later seasons with operators he knows around the country. Hopefully this will all work out but either way i will spend one more summer in the rice fields with fertilizer burning my eyes and one hell of a tan!!!!
Click to expand...

Great post, and welcome!
 
Welcome to the forums!!!

GLAS11 said:
I dont really ever post on here that often but i thought id give my 2 cents on this topic. I am currently working my way into this business and worked on a ground crew in northern California last year and will be doing so again this year. And I will tell you this, for those 2 and half months during the rush it is HARD WORK!!! During my time working there last summer i couldnt tell you if it was monday or friday, you loose track, you live by sun up and sun down. The operation i work for seeds, sprays, and fertilizes 35,000 acres of rice. We work 14 hours a day 7 days a week. For those 14 hours the plane is running and is only shut down to switch from spraying equipment to spreading equipment. Being on the ground and learning the ropes is hard work but you really learn the business and most important you learn what the pilots are doing and how they are doing it. My experience is only with rice and i dont know how it is with other crops but i honestly dont know how one would get into this without working on the ground first.
Click to expand...

Wow, 14 hours per day. Sounds rough, but I'm up for it. As I said before, the off time and rural lifestyle makes up for it. I don't mind hard work at all. I'm more than willing to work on the ground for a while to break into ag flying.

That being said, this is my situation and the route im taking to get a seat. I went to ATP and finished in 2008. I have a job flying construction contractors in a c-182 and i am also a welder. I dont have much of a desire to teach flying so i have not pursued that route of building time.
Also after getting an idea of what working for airlines is all about i have decided that crop dusting is for me. I like to work hard and i love to fly.
Click to expand...

My experience is similar to yours. I went to a well-known aviation college for four years, majored in aviation administration, got my private, and started on my instrument before I ran out of money. I have no desire to ever work for the airlines. I quit aviation last year after graduation, but, unfortunately, I'm still addicted to it, and figure I might as well look into my dream of being an ag pilot in small town America. Flying low and slow in single engine planes, as well as the rural lifestyle and being home every night really appeals to me.

My plan to get a seat is to spend this season on the ground and the owner has offered to fly with me in a cub to show me the ropes when he has time. Depending on how much he is able to teach me, when the season is over i plan to attend a crop dusting school, after which he has offered to help me find a seat for the later seasons with operators he knows around the country. Hopefully this will all work out but either way i will spend one more summer in the rice fields with fertilizer burning my eyes and one hell of a tan!!!!
Click to expand...

This sounds like a good plan. I sure hope it works out for you!
 
Twotwowoo, I'm sure that North Dakota has a state association and there is a national association also. NAAA (National Agricultural Aviation Association) is the national. They have put several great video's on youtube about the business.

The ag aviation business is strong and not going away anytime soon. If someone gets into a good seat and doesn't tear much up, and can get along with the other guys and farmers, he should have plenty of security. I mentioned in a previous post that I had been in it for thirty two years. Except for a little bit of part time help for another operator, that has been at the same operation.
 
t-cart said:
Twotwowoo, I'm sure that North Dakota has a state association and there is a national association also. NAAA (National Agricultural Aviation Association) is the national. They have put several great video's on youtube about the business.

The ag aviation business is strong and not going away anytime soon. If someone gets into a good seat and doesn't tear much up, and can get along with the other guys and farmers, he should have plenty of security. I mentioned in a previous post that I had been in it for thirty two years. Except for a little bit of part time help for another operator, that has been at the same operation.
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Thank you so much for the answers! :clap:
 
You've got some good perspectives, but I'll add mine to the heap.

While in college, working on a degree in computers while having my Comm/MEL, I was browsing the job board and saw a local Ag operator was hiring loaders. So I applied, not knowing much about Ag work, but at the same time having a willingness to learn what it all entails. And hot damn did I ever learn what it was about.

My intent as far as aviation was to finish college, get my CFI and do that, then work my way into charter or corporate flying. The reason I decided to pursue this position as a loader for an Ag operator was mainly because I had no clue what Ag flying was about, aside from the obvious.

Due to the training/testing involved in just being a loader, the operator asked for a two summer commitment. No problem for me since I was still in school.

During my first two summers I averaged 60 hour weeks, working 6 days a week. My longest week was just short of 80 hours. I was punching in at 4:45 and depending on the work load, would either work all day until 2100 or 2200, or sometimes I'd get a few hours in the middle of the day free to rest.

During my first season, the operator worked with me to get my TW endorsement when we had down time. I also got a few hours of twin time.

After completing two seasons I expressed my interest in Ag flying. As has been stated earlier, not every operator wants to train a pilot from the ground up, as was the situation I encountered initially. So I began researching Ag schools, and balked at the cost ($16k+) for what you get, mainly supercub time, maybe 5 hours in a 301 if its operable. After calculating the hourly rate, I was turned off.

Some time after committing to a third season, which begins right after I graduate (woo!), the operator called me with a tentative offer that piqued my interest. I'm waiting to hear more details, so I won't elaborate too much, but essentially the operator sees the need to hire someone year round to help with maintenance. And I'll let you surmise the possibilities from here...
 
Swen said:
You've got some good perspectives, but I'll add mine to the heap.

While in college, working on a degree in computers while having my Comm/MEL, I was browsing the job board and saw a local Ag operator was hiring loaders. So I applied, not knowing much about Ag work, but at the same time having a willingness to learn what it all entails. And hot damn did I ever learn what it was about.

My intent as far as aviation was to finish college, get my CFI and do that, then work my way into charter or corporate flying. The reason I decided to pursue this position as a loader for an Ag operator was mainly because I had no clue what Ag flying was about, aside from the obvious.

Due to the training/testing involved in just being a loader, the operator asked for a two summer commitment. No problem for me since I was still in school.

During my first two summers I averaged 60 hour weeks, working 6 days a week. My longest week was just short of 80 hours. I was punching in at 4:45 and depending on the work load, would either work all day until 2100 or 2200, or sometimes I'd get a few hours in the middle of the day free to rest.

During my first season, the operator worked with me to get my TW endorsement when we had down time. I also got a few hours of twin time.

After completing two seasons I expressed my interest in Ag flying. As has been stated earlier, not every operator wants to train a pilot from the ground up, as was the situation I encountered initially. So I began researching Ag schools, and balked at the cost ($16k+) for what you get, mainly supercub time, maybe 5 hours in a 301 if its operable. After calculating the hourly rate, I was turned off.

Some time after committing to a third season, which begins right after I graduate (woo!), the operator called me with a tentative offer that piqued my interest. I'm waiting to hear more details, so I won't elaborate too much, but essentially the operator sees the need to hire someone year round to help with maintenance. And I'll let you surmise the possibilities from here...
Click to expand...

Great post. This is starting to look like a much more realistic opportunity for me. I just need to get my commercial! I just looked at the NAAA website, and it turns out their CEO is from North Dakota. ND seems like a great place to work in ag flying. I'd have no problem committing to ag work for a few years.

Maybe I can get my commercial this year, and find an ag job next summer. Would it help to do my commercial in a tailwheel airplane, or does that not matter? I know what my original post's "disclaimer" said, but when it comes down to it, I still love aviation.
 
twotwowoo said:
Would it help to do my commercial in a tailwheel airplane, or does that not matter? I know what my original post's "disclaimer" said, but when it comes down to it, I still love aviation.
Click to expand...

Without a doubt, get as much TW time as possible.

I totally failed at this since I switched my goals in aviation as you can tell from my post. For my comm. training, I had the option of doing the single engine portion in a C172 or a citabria. And I chose the skyhawk, since my intent at that time was to instruct. If I only had that decision over...
 
Wow Swen, sounds like a good thing coming your way. Good luck!

Twotwowoo, are you close to any operators where you live? Might try to line up a summer job if at all possible.
 
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