"Cropdusting" in Idaho | A Look at Ag Aviation with Eric Lewis & Desert Air Ag

Join Eric Lewis and learn about his journey to become an ag pilot. Flying in the high desert of Idaho, he treats barley, potatoes, alfalfa, corn and range land. Sit in the cockpit with him and see what his day is like and enjoy unique views of "cropdusting."
Desert Air Ag is part of Heinen Brothers Agra Services. Follow Desert Air Ag at / desertairag
Find Heinen Brothers Agra Services at / heinenbrosag
/ @heinenbrothershbtv4427
heinenbrosag.com/

[@fjbtube6278]

The fact you’re still doing the job at 70 says it all...

[@MoodyBlue42..]

I used to watch a man spray fields around my neighborhood when I was a kid in the late 70's. You could hear him coming from a mile away. I would run out into the field to watch him spray. found out later who that man was and believe it or not his name was Jack Frost. I still get that same feeling to this day watching the "Crop Dusters". I was even late for work the other day just to watch Lannie Towe spray. People say they're crazy but I know better. They are some of the safest fliers around. They definitely know what they're doing. God bless the ag pilots 🙏

[@keithgraham6889]

A first class video! I miss flying ag. I was hit from behind by a Navy jet. 4/14/93

[@insideagriculture2971]

Thanks!

[@ericlewis9248]

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Glad you survived.

[@lindagibson.hiebert708]

Love this and what a great man. So proud we're friend's

[@westerlywinds5684]

No white shirt with shoulder stripes, or a in flight meal and a layover in a 5 star hotel, but this is nevertheless flying at its finest. Hats off!

[@fir04003]

I think this is one of your best videos yet. There are some really amazing shots. You can really visualize some of the wingtip vortices in some of the shots. Pretty amazing. I feel like some of those guys are just a little crazy seeing how close he gets to power lines and sprinkler systems.

[@ravensmadd]

This duster is one of the coolest guys I've ever met! 75 my butt!! What an amazing pilot too! My husband and I are so tickled to have met you Eric!

[@melodycline9264]

Wing envy. Dusting is flying most pilots never see. Dive bombing deck over & over, pull outs, obsticales, no auto pilot, constant maneuvering, avoiding entanglement in wires, tracking location so if not for all that, a person would fall asleep at the controls the job its so mundane oops in case your boss reads this... way underpaid & Vacations Way Too Short ♩flyfastgirl

[@lyndamoulton8553]

Fantastic video and awesome flying Eric! I know you love your job!

[@RisingEagleEnterprise]

I trained at Big Bend CC too and I worked at the Ephrata Airport pumping Av gas during the same time frame. I remember Bill Stout and the beast he flew every day. My start in aviation started when I was about the same age. The local crop duster would land on our lane while he was flying the farms around our house. I remember he picked me up and dropped me into the cockpit of his Stearman Biwing and it was like catching a disease. All I wanted to do was fly from that point on.

[@RGF56]

Nice video. What are you spraying over that desert country , a pre emergent herbicide ? Seem pointless otherwise as nothing looked green .

[@jamesriordan7]

Fantastic video!

[@davidallen9526]

So admire your skills sir. When you flew parallel with the power/phone lines while holding the left wing above wires. Very nice.

[@RGF56]

at 4.20 ? Looked like a starboard wing to me .

[@ericlewis9248]

Thank you! Was trying to allow the prevailing wind to carry the spray under the powerline to reach the edge of the crop where I couldn't get it from the other side...

[@ericlewis9248]

I just stumbled onto your comment. How fascinating! I worked at Inland Aviation just after Neil Karmen took it over when Jeff Ried was killed in the Cessna 310 crash. Who is this? I might know you...

[@ericlewis9248]

Shooting for one more season next year. I'll be seventy six. That's probably enough don't you think. Gonna be hard to quit for sure..

[@ericlewis9248]

You are so right. I flew ag planes in California for thirty five years before moving to Idaho for this job. In California, almost all the crops we sprayed were flown at night in the dark to protect honey bees and other pollinators. Fatigue was my biggest risk factor. I used to hold onto the cockpit roll cage structure over my head when ferrying from the airstrip to the field. If I nodded off (which happened to often) my hand would relax and fall to my lap waking me up. Unlike driving when tired, there are no rumble straps in the sky. That first bump would be a bad one...

[@ericlewis9248]

The young man who created this video used a photo drone and really did a fantastic job. Great editing and sound choice. I think he'll wind up directing in Hollywood someday.

[@ericlewis9248]

Yes, a product called Panoramic. It keeps Cheat Grass seed from germinating.

[@ericlewis9248]

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, in past times, most ag planes were powered by World War Two era radial aircraft engins and most of the noise was actually created by the propeller tips breaking the sound barrier. Today, most ag planes are powered by gas turbine engines (a jet engine that turns a propeller and burns kerosene) with three to five propeller blades turning at lower rpm's. They just whisper as they pass bye.

[@ericlewis9248]

Just finishing my 2024 season at age seventy five. Going for one more next year and that will be it. Probably :)

[@ericlewis9248]

Thanks Linda. Hope you're doing well. Love you and your family!

[@ericlewis9248]

Not sure who this is but thanks for the kind words.

[@melodycline9264]

Come on with the turns..bet ya get hit with thermals popping on open hot land like that, you must blow right through them that low. Raw land, like adding on another dimention, that landscape can go static, flat line, depth. Repetitious fatigue that settles it - installing motor on my hang glider and some spray dealy things- going to tame me some land..eric> wing dip..salute ~¡~

[@excellenceinanimation960]

Eric looks like he is 50!

[@randybettencourt712]

I was thinking the exact same thing. I wish I look like that when I turn 70.