So You Want To Be A Crop Duster. Is It Worth Going to An Ag Aviation School?

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Tune in to hear my opinion on whether or not it is worth it to go to an Ag Aviation school. I also recently heard from someone who chose to go to a school and his experience/why he recommends it. I personally think it can be done without going to a school, so long as you have someone who is willing to mentor you. If you decide to go to a school to learn how to be an Ag Pilot, I would recommend taking the time out and doing it all at once instead of going sporadically throughout a period of time.
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#agaviationadventures #cropdusting #agaviation

[@kylepogue5182]

423 hours clocked loading the month of July 2021. I absolutely love this challenge and now my goals to get off the ground and in a seat, definitely recommend a summer of loading to see if you can even handle the effort and time it takes. We had 3/5 new loaders quit.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Great input! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@excellenceinanimation960]

Where do you find people looking to hire? I'm finishing a ag program at Penn State and in a couple years maybe 2 I am interested in trying loading to see if I can take it.

[@greggschultz9256]

As always, great information and fun to watch!!!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks Gregg.

[@jamesriordan7]

Great video once again Tyson! Thanks for the info!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks James!

[@sparky.4725]

i knew right away as i saw the N number in petersons farm bros video i knew right away it was ya'll great job :)

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Haha thanks!

[@milesjohnson5827]

Great video, ad congrats on 13.6K!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks Miles!!

[@danielwhite4825]

Don't be a Dan!!! I listened to my family and guidance counselor and everyone said it's too dangerous.I love flying and specifically ag aviation ever since I was a kid and.worked as a loader for my.friends Dad. But I took the path everyone.tolde to take operating heavy equipment laying sewer and utilities. About a year ago I was covered in a trench by 4 ft of dirt and survived. Whatever you do don't be a Dan there's risk in everything you do driving to work is one of them get what you want to do and then be happy doing what you do love the videos wish I was up there with you

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Good advice to live by.

[@19jody72]

Damn... looked like the tire touched in the beginning! Love the video!!! The flying part, mainly because I'm to scared to fly...lmao Flew one time..its not for me

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Haha at least you know it’s not your thing.

[@19jody72]

@@AgAviationAdventures 🤣🤣🤣👊

[@fishertrowbridge]

Great video again. 4th season loading here finally getting done with my commercial and moving into a seat next year. What did you start in tyson?

[@AgAviationAdventures]

That’s great, congratulations! I started in a radial thrush.

[@TimKirkmt]

Great video. Just wondering, looked like you were spraying only half of each run there? Any reason. If I was 20 years younger I’d love a go at this job. It looks very pleasing to the eye, and the exactness of the flying is very appealing. Thanks for sharing.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks for watching! I'm spraying the boundary of this particular field. It may look like I'm only spraying half of it but the other crop would not be this customers.

[@ryderinblack]

Your voice recording has so much clarity, how do you eliminate out the lower frequencies coming from the engine?

[@AgAviationAdventures]

I have a mic from umcobra that helps a lot.

[@ces188charles6]

Good advice. Neighbor told me their son wants to be an ag pilot and they are mortified.....told them I would talk to him about it as my dad was an ag pilot but they never brought him by..... I think they are scared , but anything you do has risks.

[@willjohnson211]

My family isn’t a big fan of me doing it either 😂

[@ces188charles6]

@@willjohnson211 yeah, but it's fun!!!!!!!!

[@kaydanfehr8907]

Yeah every time I mention that I want to be an ag pilot they aren’t very enthusiastic about it

[@willjohnson211]

This is my first year loading and I’m praying I can find a seat next year

[@ces188charles6]

@@kaydanfehr8907 yeah, I kick myself every day for not biting the bullet and doing it when I was in my 20s.......i miss being around ag-planes in general......never got out of my blood I guess...

[@plane-fuzz]

"YES" MUST DO AG SCHOOL!!!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks appreciate your input Dave.

[@allison7835]

I love your videos and I love crop dusters and I really want to go there

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks!!

[@VideosByAl]

Every year we install a new 60" Wind Sock. People constantly ask why we have a wind sock. Simple answer, To Attract Air Planes. We are in Eastern Iowa just West of Cedar Rapids. Local pilots swing by to check out our sock. So for the price of a new Wind Sock we get to see lots of plane all summer.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

That’s awesome!!

[@djquincey4363]

I can tell..you went to ol’ Billy’s place in GA “R.I.P” Billy…well so did I 12 years ago…we had a great time. But structure no not really lol..but it was a experience I would not trade.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

I actually attended Flying Tigers in Rayville, LA.

[@hoardryan]

Where did you get your shoulder harness covers? Tony P and I were talking that we both need some good ones cause we get neck chaffing with those 502 straps :P

[@AgAviationAdventures]

These are AmSafe airbags. Before them I used something from the Dollar Store.

[@theyoutubecomment2205]

but if no ag school then how would someone know to work the lightbar, locating fields, scouting, checking sensitive areas, choosing patterns, setting A/B, swaths, calibration

[@AgAviationAdventures]

That would be something you would learn from your mentor that you’re working for loading and flying with them in their GA aircraft. I know operators that have citabrias with light bars mounted.

[@Nick-rl1jc]

Great video! I would like your opinion....I'm 45 years old, an A&P/IA mechanic since 2004, currently working in the HEMS field in Iowa. I plan on getting my PPL this winter/spring. I'd love to get a position flying ag. Back in 2004-2005 I worked as a loader/A&P in Louisiana for a helicopter spraying outfit. I know there are a few ag aviation companies around the state, and I'll talk with a few of them. I'd like to get into it obviously, but just not sure of the best way to go about it. I'm just not too sure if ag aviation companies would really like having an A&P/IA in the door and if that is considered a "step-up" to help get in? Or is it would be worth it to attend an ag flight school for the ratings from the start? Like I said, I'm 45, so I'm certainly behind the curve in that department. I'd like your opinion on the best route to go? Thank you.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Even though you've already worked on the ground at some point in your life, an operator will likely want you on the ground for a year or two before they put you in an airplane. It can take some time to get that first seat, and you will likely take a few years before you're making good money. The best thing you can do is start working for someone on the ground while working on your ratings. You'll need your PPl, then CPL, and build as much tailwheel time as you can. Make sure you can get your 2nd class medical before you do anything. We get this question a lot so we're going to make a dedicated post on our website with more info. Check there in the next couple of days for a longer discussion. agaviationadventures.com/

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Also having your A&P/IA can definitely be a bonus! An operator could hire you year round to fly all season and then do maintenance in the off season. It really just depends on the operation but if we had two candidates sitting in front of us with all of the same qualifications except one had A&P/IA and the other didn't, we'd go with the A&P. Hope this helps! There's a lot of maintenance that pops up throughout the busy season and so it's helpful to know how to work on the plane you're flying.

[@Nick-rl1jc]

Thank you for the comments! I have started ground school to sharpen my knowledge. I'll start my flying in a few weeks hopefully. I just hope my age wont deter advancement of an ag aviation career.@@AgAviationAdventures

[@mrmtmgarage6713]

New subscriber here watching 👍

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Thanks for watching!

[@krishampton7060]

Is AG aviation a reliable source of work from any position weather it’s on the ground or up in the air or is it constant job hunting looking for people who require you.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

It's reliable work with lots of opportunity.

[@nathanthegr8]

The Ag pilot from the small town of Linton, ND crashed his plane and passed away. I don’t know if he was close to finishing the fields requested for spraying. But I do know that they do not know who will do crop dusting next year. Just wanted to let you know because we would love to have you! Actually, the timing would probably work out perfect because most people just spray sunflowers around here and they are a late blooming plant so that would allow you to dust over in the Vaduring the growing season and later on during the year come and do sunflowers. If you wanted more information I could get you in touch with people in charge. Thank you?

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Hi Nathan. I actually knew Mike well and it was very sad to hear about the accident. That would be pretty awesome to come out there and fly. Do you farm in the area?

[@nathanthegr8]

Yes I do farm, with my brother! We had Mike spray many times for us including this year! Because of his accident and just being curious about dusting, I started to watch your KZbin channel! If my situation was different, I’ve always said that is what I wanted to do when I grew up! It is super cool and I am envious of your occupation! Mike actually said that he would take me up sometime and now I wish that I would have taken him up on it sooner! Mike was liked by the whole community and he will be missed! Remember, fly low and fly fast!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Well I appreciate you watching! I wish I had taken him up on his offer to fly in his T6 with him.

[@nathanthegr8]

He did some pretty sweet flyovers with that!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

@@nathanthegr8 Hey Nathan, are you able to send us your contact information? [e-mail] Thanks!

[@ethanmeyer4739]

I went to Ag Flite and it was a good experience but it still hasn't landed me a job yet. I have over 5000hrs of tail-wheel time and still haven't found a seat. What ag school did was cut me off for opening up other types of flying jobs due to my niche experience. Everyone I met already had a job lined up before ag school.(mostly family connections)

[@AgAviationAdventures]

I had a similar experience. I think everyone at my school already had a job as well.

[@djquincey4363]

I’m looking for a pilot right now. -34 Turbine thrush

[@djquincey4363]

If you see this reply. Like to talk with you

[@ethanmeyer4739]

@@djquincey4363 I'm banner towing again for this season but I would like to get into the thrush.

[@ethanmeyer4739]

@@djquincey4363 KZbin deleted my comments when I try to list my email or phone number.

[@willjohnson211]

Many operators won’t hire a pilot that hasn’t loaded

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Yeah that’s true.

[@mchevunu33]

don't you need a musk to protect you from the chimicals? or siut?

[@AgAviationAdventures]

No I’m in an enclosed cockpit.

[@jon00tz]

I’ll start simple…….How do you find the field you’re supposed to spray?

[@rgetso]

You get the flash drive from your wife with all the details that you plug into the USB port in the aircraft. And she will load the plane with product. All you have to do is fly the plane. The real question is: How do you find that wife?!

[@rherman9085]

Learn to fly first....

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Take a look at the behind the scenes video with cally. My gps will give me guidance to the field once it’s loaded off the thumb drive.

[@jasonjones8932]

How does VOR affect your plying

[@AgAviationAdventures]

What do you mean?

[@kaydanfehr8907]

Hey how does it work with ur a and b line on a round field

[@AgAviationAdventures]

You just pick any side of the field you want and set it. Usually going with the rows is easiest.

[@kaydanfehr8907]

@@AgAviationAdventures and so that doesn’t mess up anything with the centre of the field being much longer then the sides

[@AgAviationAdventures]

No

[@kaydanfehr8907]

Would u know anything about going to an Ag Aviation school in Canada

[@AgAviationAdventures]

I heard the one in Canada is a good one but I have no first hand experience.

[@jamesdehart5039]

North Battleford Airspray school in Canada is the best school in the world. I went to school there, I know all the other schools in America I know them all well the one in Canada in North Battleford Airspray is like a PhD compared to elementary school to the rest!, The cost is exactly $18,375 for 40 hours of training and that is Canadian money and just because you pay don’t mean you graduate you have to know what you’re doing the man that runs the school is one of the most famous ag pilots in the world People from all over the world go there he trains between 35 and 40 pilot a year and was good friends with Leland snow the maker and designer of the air tractor that we use an ag aviation today!!

[@kaydanfehr8907]

@@jamesdehart5039 hey thanks man that really helps me out

[@kaydanfehr8907]

@@jamesdehart5039 hey do u by any chance know where that school is located

[@scrapnad1]

@@kaydanfehr8907 North Battleford, Saskatchewan

[@jamesdehart5039]

I’m about to PREACH here so everybody bear with me, First off Tyson is doing something without even realizing he’s doing it every time he makes these videos which is awesome !!! he always has a sweet flat perfect Field in the background of he is videos making people that doesn’t know better think that this is how easy this business is diving in and out of these flat fields with no trees no powerlines no cell phone towers no windmills no oil pump jacks or holding tanks water tanks livestock bees tractors working right beside of major interstate highways Where your wing literally goes over the traffic coming at you on I 75 kids playing in the backyard next to the crop swooping between houses knocking patio furniture off the deck with your wind turbulence Swoop under the powerlines or diving over 200 foot tall powerlines into a backyard The farmer calls A cornfield or a soybean field just to pop back out to clear the hundred feet tall trees at the end of the run that’s what it’s like for most Cropduster‘s in America specially in the north east Indiana Ohio Michigan speaking of Michigan those poor guys really have it tough , if you can fly crop duster in Michigan you can fly anywhere in the world!! Now to the point of the video the best Ag school in the world is located in North Battleford Saskatchewan Canada (North Battleford Airspray) it is like a PhD program compared to anything in America I know for sure I research the hell out of all three schools in America one is no longer in business and I graduated from the school world class all the way with the best training aircraft and instructors available ,and operated by one of the most well known and respected Cropduster in the world !! The cost is exactly $18,375 Canadian for the school which is 40 hours of training ! this man’s accomplishments will take me an hour on here just to tell you how qualified he is he was friends with Leland snow the designer and builder of the air tractor that we fly in these videos and had some input on later designs of the Airtractor 502 like the GPS placement in the middle of the Instrument panel anyway it needs to be made perfectly clear that just because you go to an ag pilot school Does not mean you’re going to get a job this is a very hard business to break into unless you are a farmer or buying your own airplane 98% of the time you need to start working on the ground crew Learning how to mix and load the airplane and set the airplane up for the job. Once you understand all of thatYou will then need to go to Ag pilot training school (YES YOU NEED AG PILOT SCHOOL) then from there you will need to go to which ever state you want to work in and Pass There pesticide trainingProgram which is not easy to I get your pesticide applicator license As far as experience is concerned you’re gonna need your commercial pilots license with around 500 hours a tail wheel time to even qualify on insurance 1000 hours total time flying agriculture to qualify to get into a turbine powered aircraft like used in this video .Each year the insurance requirement goes up due to the fact there’s so many accidents every season in America ,around 12 to 13 on average which is a hell of a lot compared to how many people that actually do this work in the United States .as far as money is concernedThose people talking about these $200-$250,000 a year job they are a few out there but every experience ag pilot flying today is way ahead of you in line to getting those jobs .you can expect between 50 and 75,000 a year on average starting out and as you build your time and experience like Tyson has then you can demand a higher pay rate per acre I am the chief pilot at my Spray operation and stay in touch with pilots all over the world new pilots as well as extremely seasoned pilots , my mentor and the guy that I look up to this this is his 58 season in aAg airplane ! Don’t get me wrong I know it sounds like I’m crushing your dreams but this is truly the most difficult hardest most dangerous flying job there is and only and I mean only the truly determined will ever reach this goal ! and one thing it is not mentioned here is the fact that you need to know about agriculture you need to actually care about the crop your are spraying that’s why the kids raised on the farms make the best crop dusters because they give a damn about what they’re doing not just flying the airplane and doing What people think is cool tricks in the airplane ! As far as experience pilots wanting to get into this type of work 95% of all the commercial jet pilots blah blah blah pilots that try this workNever make it ! First of all They don’t fully understand how dangerous this is two they don’t have the Stick and rudder skills usually, and three they never imagined that they will fly the airplane so long every day that they become sick to death with their passion , that’s the downside to this work !! I set in this airplane 14 hours a day so far all of July this year one of the best corn runs ever in 35 year company history avoiding all the hazards that was mentioned above and it is extremely tiring you cannot get behind the airplane it will kill you the average age right now in this country for crop dusting pilots is 50 years old there’s a reason for that !! once again I’d like to apologize for breaking anybody’s dreams but this is just the truth ! Don’t get me wrong there is days that this job is incredibly fun specially when you get those Fields to spray like Tyson in the videos are spraying those are just fun And those are some great days in airplane ! once again only the truly determined Will make it all the way to the seat of a turbine powered agricultural airplane enough said !! good luck to all that endeavour to do this type of work it is truly rewarding and it is truly terrifying at times but once it’s in your blood it’s there to stay you will never look at a cornfield the same way ever again the rest of your life without thinking of how you could fly your airplane down on top of that field and spray that field . when I park my airplane at the end of the season I don’t wanna ever see it again I hate it so much and then 7 to 10 days later I’m ready to get back at it ! So the answer to the question is YES you definitely need to go to an Ag school !! like Tyson says fly low and fly fast!!!👍🇺🇸

[@AgAviationAdventures]

You always have great input James! Thank you for your personal expertise and opinion. I think those are all very valid points. And you’re right, I only do these videos in open fields without obstacles. I need to make some flying in MO or IA and show people what it’s like just getting whopped at the end of the day.

[@jamesdehart5039]

Man it’s been a hell of a season down here and I heard other areas drought stricken and terrible unbelievable how this job is feast or famine and it always has been and always will be that way !! I’ve done a corn run in Ohio we did one in Michigan and now I’m in Indiana and man is it busy I’ve never flown so much in all of my career I’m very blessed right now just hoping to make it to the end of the season in one piece so I can spend all this 💰 👍🙏😂

[@kiwi6444]

My advise to anyone thinking about becoming a Crop Duster. If you have any other considerations for becoming a Crop Duster other than just wanting to fly a Crop Duster, then don't.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Good advice

[@kiwi6444]

@@AgAviationAdventures I just remember what it was like for me when I started in 1990, I wasn't the slightest bit interested in what it paid or what it involved, I just had to fly one. Became a mixer for 3 years while I was doing my CPL, continued straight on with Ag rating and the rest is history. If you truly what it, you make it happen. YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN! Happy days.

[@rherman9085]

The audio is terrible. I had it all the way turned up, still couldn't hear it. Might want to adjust your Mic settings. Thanks

[@flogang6014]

Could hear it good. But not clear. It’s just how the mics are.

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Sometimes the struggle is real.

[@kristiebobo289]

I’m guessing that is a 502

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Yeah

[@justinparker7795]

What the hell makes you think we want to look at your mug all the time??? turn the camera around!!!

[@AgAviationAdventures]

Check out some other videos that have some different camera angles. Specifically “Ride Along With A Crop Duster”. Thanks for watching!!!