NAAA is sad to
announce the passing of two individuals who played an important role in the
agricultural aviation industry.
Dr. Carrol Voss passed away on
June 10, 2018 at his home in Maine at the age of 98. Dr. Voss was an early
pioneer in ag aviation, in particular on the use of helicopters for
agricultural work. Dr. Voss showed an early interest in both agriculture and
aviation. He studied entomology at the University of Nebraska and received his
PhD on pest control from the University of Wisconsin. His graduate work was
interrupted by World War II. Dr. Voss served in the Navy Air Corps where
he was a flight instructor.
In the late 1940’s his
interests in agriculture and aviation came together, and he received his
helicopter pilots certificate and started working in the aerial
application industry. In 1958 he started his own ag aviation operation,
AGROTORS, which became a leader in aerial application operations. In the mid
1960’s, AGROTORS opened a helicopter flight school and its ag
courses were known throughout the U.S.
Dr. Voss was active in many
other capacities as well, including serving as consultant to the World Health
Organization for establishing aerial applications to control insect outbreaks
in Africa. He was also involved with Helicopter Association International
(HAI), and received several awards from the association.
Chuck Hendrickson, a long-time
Illinois operator, passed at the age of 73 on June 17, 2018. Chuck was
born in Rochelle Illinois and was raised on a farm nearby. As with Dr.
Voss, Chuck showed an interest in both agriculture and aviation. He
studied agriculture at Western Illinois University.
Chuck entered the army in 1966
and graduated from flight training as a Warrant Officer in May of 1967. Chuck
served as a Huey helicopter pilot in Vietnam, assigned to the 1st Calvary
Division. By the end of 1967 he became an aircraft commander. After finishing
his tour, he served as a flight instructor at Ft. Wolters.
After being discharged from
army in 1970, Chuck sought to find a way to combine his love
of farming and flying. He leased a helicopter which he set up to spray crops, and soon realized aerial
application was his passion. Chuck established Hendrickson Flying Service
in 1971.
Both of these individuals
performed a valuable service to the NAAA by serving on a NAAA/FAA working group
which met in the late 1990s to encourage the FAA to update regulations
under which Part 137 operators must work. The working group
was also responsible for writing a much-needed update to Advisory
Circular 137-1, which had not been revised since it was written in 1965. The
revision became AC137-1A.
