Decisions, Decisions...

Wow, now THERE is something to think about.

Ctab has done this before. T-cart has a long history of doing this. I know that Air Tractor (and Leland Snow generally) has always tried to factor in survivability into the purpose built Ag planes. Also, there is now something called PAASS to raise awareness about safety issues.

Can T-cart and Ctab chime in here: Is the Ag business getting safer? If so, what are the biggest improvements in safety, and what more needs to be done?

Thanks.
 
Ctab has done this before. T-cart has a long history of doing this. I know that Air Tractor (and Leland Snow generally) has always tried to factor in survivability into the purpose built Ag planes. Also, there is now something called PAASS to raise awareness about safety issues.

Can T-cart and Ctab chime in here: Is the Ag business getting safer? If so, what are the biggest improvements in safety, and what more needs to be done?

Thanks.

I just saw this, and while this may be the case for some guys, it most certainly isn't the case for the majority. Everyone involved in any aspect of aviation for a long enough period of time is going to eventually go through the pain of knowing someone who died in a crash. It's the sad reality of it.

I have been flying ag planes almost exclusively for thirty years. I have many, many friends that have been doing the same for as long or longer and are very much alive. Yes, it's true that I have lost some to crashes, but the vast majority don't. I happen to know many old guys still doing ag work full time.

There is no question that this is a dangerous realm of aviation, but to me, it is no more dangerous than you guys coming down the glideslope, iced up, and just barely hangin on the prop. Or the flight instructor that has a student freeze up on the controls at a critical time. Or, the airline pilot that loses both engines and puts the airplane in the river. My point i that all facets of aviation, like it or not, has a risk factor that is higher than your normal everyday job has.

Ag aviation has certaily gotten safer over the years. As Waco mentioned, there are several mandatory safety/government/chemical/type training sessions that have to be attended yearly to keep a current certification. All states have different regulations, but they are all basically the same.

Do ag accidents still happen? Unfortunately, yes, but they also happen in every other type of aviation activity. No part of aviation escapes this.

Ag planes today, and I mean the two big ones curently (1) Air Tractor (2) Thrush are much safer than years past. The big safety improvement is in the powerplant. A turbine is much more reliable than a flat or radial engine. The roll cage that the pilot sits in could be compared to the cage that a Nascar driver straps himself into. Kerosene is much more safer, in case of ruptured tanks than av gas. The list just goes on and on. Even the pilots have improved.with training. In the old days after the war, a lot of the guys that didn't take a job with the airlines came home and bought a surplus Stearman, cut the front seat out and installed some sort of crude hopper, and went to work. Some made it and a lot didn't. The majority of the stuff that they sprayed back then has been banned. The products we use today are much,much more safer, and through the use of GPS and other technoligies, we are doing more "prescription" applications. In other words, we treat only the part of the field that is in need of being treated.

The ag business is not the same business it was even ten years ago. The owners are professional businessmen/businesswomen with a large personal investment, and are complying with the current regulations and in some instances, adding their own "personal" regulations to enhance safety. True enough, there are still the occasional "cowboy" out there, but they are slowly being weeded out. I've said it here before, Your reputation in this business follows you around closely as this is a small tight nit group.

This definetly isn't a job for everybody. Yeah, it looks fun and the planes are actually very comfortable to fly, but at the end of the day, it is just a job. I just happen to really love it.
 
The answer depends ctab - on where you sit on the list. If you were senior to me, I'd say, "git", but since you're junior, hold onto that number. :) lol
 
I'd like that. Looks like there is a chance I will be on RSV in April anyways.

How'd it go? I'm pretty sure I'll be RSV until I find a job somewhere else. Then again, I could get "lucky" like the guy on the bottom of the MEM CA list and get a high speed line b/c PBS is jacked up.
 
How'd it go? I'm pretty sure I'll be RSV until I find a job somewhere else. Then again, I could get "lucky" like the guy on the bottom of the MEM CA list and get a high speed line b/c PBS is jacked up.

Noooo, never....

PBS = Pilots Being Screwed!


Ended up with highspeeds. On weekends. With RGT mixed in. I do have one to MFE on the 5th without a CA...
 
Noooo, never....

PBS = Pilots Being Screwed!


Ended up with highspeeds. On weekends. With RGT mixed in. I do have one to MFE on the 5th without a CA...

Heh, the dreaded MFE high speed. :)

When do you have recurrent? I've got it the last week of April.
 
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