Badass Crop-dusting video

[ChasenSFO]

Sorry if its been posted before. Worth a watch for sure. :rawk:
[yt]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ssIEb46UYWQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ssIEb46UYWQ&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/yt]

Very, very cool.

 

[Hacker15e]

Interesting video.

I'm at a loss for why the shots of the 90-degree HCA pass and the high-aspect/vertical stack pass are in there.

Flying low to the dirt and close to ground obstructions is high performance and cool as is -- there's no need IMHO to hotdog it up for the camera to make a neat video.

The cool factor actually went down for me with the inclusion of those shots.

How does that light bar on the cowl work?

 

[Douglas]

Wow, you are right though about the hot dogging.

It looked like at 2:04 he kept the wheels right on top of the crop.

 

[msmspilot]

Interesting video.

I'm at a loss for why the shots of the 90-degree HCA pass and the high-aspect/vertical stack pass are in there.

Flying low to the dirt and close to ground obstructions is high performance and cool as is -- there's no need IMHO to hotdog it up for the camera to make a neat video.

The cool factor actually went down for me with the inclusion of those shots.

How does that light bar on the cowl work?

My understanding is it's basically a CDI for a GPS derived course across the field they're working.

 

[ChasenSFO]

I kind of felt that way too, the crop-dusting itself was cool enough as it was.

 

[MikeD]

Interesting video.

I'm at a loss for why the shots of the 90-degree HCA pass and the high-aspect/vertical stack pass are in there.

Take him one-circle, for sure.

Flying low to the dirt and close to ground obstructions is high performance and cool as is -- there's no need IMHO to hotdog it up for the camera to make a neat video.

Agreed.

 

[Adler]

where do I sign up?

 

[necoflyer]

Interesting video.

I'm at a loss for why the shots of the 90-degree HCA pass and the high-aspect/vertical stack pass are in there.

Flying low to the dirt and close to ground obstructions is high performance and cool as is -- there's no need IMHO to hotdog it up for the camera to make a neat video.

The cool factor actually went down for me with the inclusion of those shots.

How does that light bar on the cowl work?

I grew up oon a farm, and worked with GPS abit on the different equipment.

Basically the operater sets a point when he starts the initial run, this is known as the A point and then sets another point when he finishes that run, called B point. A line is drawn between A and B and is known as the A-B line. All subsequent passes are set off of this line. The width of each pass can be varied by the operator according to the width of the equipment. There are also other modes that can be used such as curve track for following center pivot sprinkler tracks, contour mode for following the slope of the earth. Of course I doubt these are used for airplane very much. Depending on how much money you want to spend, and most guys do, you can even set up the gps drive the tractor or sprayer through the field for you, and turn sections of the sprayer boom or row units on the planter on and off. The most accurate systems can get down to less then 2 cm pass to pass, 4 cm repeatable, again just comes down to $$$. The light bar is like a CDI, the lights show which way the plane needs to steer, and how far off corse it is.

 

[The Gardener]

Are those pilots just breathing straight air right off the field or do they have respirators of some sort?

 

[Swen]

Are those pilots just breathing straight air right off the field or do they have respirators of some sort?

Straight air.

Seldom do they make passes one right next to the other. In most cases they do a 'race track' pattern where they start down wind on their first pass, turn 180 and make the next pass in the middle of the field. Then they work their way upwind. So to some extent, breathing chemicals is limited.

 

[GLAS11]

As far as respirators in the state of California at least they are required to wear them for certain chemicals. Depending on the wind and temperature the chemicals will sometimes float in the air for quite sometime and they do end up flying through it. Each chemical has a label on it that states what all handlers and applicators must use for personal protection.

As far as the "hot doggin" ive been loader for 2 years and whats on that video is pretty much what i see everyday from the ground. Sometimes depending on the wind and the type of chemical they have to get that low. All pilots are different, some fly lower than other reguardless but rarely will they ever try and show off. The pilots i work with are very serious and safety oriented. They do what they have to to get the job done safely and efficiently and sometimes that involves flying inches above crops and pulling almost straight up to dodge a wire or tree or house or whatever. This is what they are teaching me and when i fly with one of pilots in the company citabria we do the same stuff and its scary at first but once you get used to it it a ton of fun :rawk:

 

[Hacker15e]

As far as the "hot doggin" ive been loader for 2 years and whats on that video is pretty much what i see everyday from the ground. Sometimes depending on the wind and the type of chemical they have to get that low. All pilots are different, some fly lower than other reguardless but rarely will they ever try and show off. The pilots i work with are very serious and safety oriented. They do what they have to to get the job done safely and efficiently and sometimes that involves flying inches above crops and pulling almost straight up to dodge a wire or tree or house or whatever. This is what they are teaching me and when i fly with one of pilots in the company citabria we do the same stuff and its scary at first but once you get used to it it a ton of fun :rawk:

My comment didn't have to do with flying low or close to obstacles -- that's part and parcel of the job.

I was talking about flying close to other dusters for what seemed to me to be non-mission purposes (unless there are some really strange tactics to applying chemicals to fields that I'm not aware of which involve multiple aircraft on misaligned axes).