Order in the court! Come hear expert testimony from an attorney, a physician and an agricultural marketing guru at the 2020 Ag Aviation Expo in Savannah Dec. 7-10. Our star witnesses pledge to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth about a range of issues of importance to aerial applicators at NAAA’s General Session on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

This session will feature substantive presentations about legal, medical and food trends occurring in the ag aviation nationally and how that might affect you and your business. Aviation attorney John Wright will start the session off by discussing a legal case he tried in Colorado between an aggressive state government agency and reputable, professional aerial applicators. Following rudimentary procedures on the applicators’ parts resulted in a victory for our industry. Wright also provides complimentary legal services for NAAA. Next on the dais will be Dr. Stan Musick, aviator and AME, who will address numerous medical topics, including over-the-counter drugs’ potency, fatigue and how to be granted a medical special issuance. Finally, Agri Marketing magazine publisher Lynn Henderson will discuss fairly radical changes in consumer food trends and how that may affect the aerial application industry. This General Session will be chocked-full of information relevant to operators, ag pilots and suppliers to the industry alike.

Legal Affairs with John L. Wright

Keeping good records and displaying professionalism as an aerial applicator can benefit you in drift cases. John Wright, founding attorney of the Law Office of John L. Wright PC, in Broomfield, Colorado, will provide an overview of a drift case gone right and share how good record-keeping and participation in professional aerial application training and organizations can aid you in a positive outcome.

Wright successfully represented three Colorado aerial application companies that were facing off-target application charges filed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. The case was dismissed by an administrative law judge in January due to evidence showing the professionalism of each operation involved, such as participation in Operation S.A.F.E. fly-ins, keeping application and weather site records, circling the field before the application, checking wind direction and EPA testing for the safety of the products used.

The charges against the operators were filed based on complaints made several years before the charges were filed. The Colorado Department of Agriculture investigated these complaints without the operators being aware they had even had a complaint filed against them. When the charges were finally filed, the time for the operators to collect evidence in their favor had long since passed. Fortunately, these operators documented their professionalism, and Wright was able to use this documentation to refute the state’s charges. Hear what you need to do to defend yourself against bogus and egregious complaints from Wright himself.

Wright is an experienced business, tax and aviation attorney who has successfully defended pilots, mechanics, aircraft owners and aviation businesses from administrative actions brought by various agencies including the FAA and IRS. Wright has an agreement with NAAA to provide up to one hour of legal consultation to 2020 NAAA operator and pilot members on federal aviation laws, including federal aviation taxation issues and federal transportation laws. He is also the general counsel for the Colorado Agricultural Aviation Association and a panel attorney for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He is licensed to practice in Colorado and Florida, as well as before the United States Tax Court. Wright is also a commercial pilot, rated for instrument, multiengine and glider flight.

Medical Affairs with Dr. Stan Musick

Dr. Stan Musick is a man who fills many seats in life! Dr. Musick will cover several medical aspects that are pertinent to ag pilots. He will use real-life examples from three pilots, including two agricultural aviators, to describe how medicals can get messed up by pilots, doctors and the system itself. In terms of over-the-counter (OTC) medications, Dr. Musick will describe the half-lives of certain more potent OTC medications, which can be looked up by aviators themselves to determine the length of time a pilot needs to wait after taking the medication before flying. He will discuss CACIs—Conditions an AME (or aviation medical examiner) Can Issue—as well as what pilots can do to help their AMEs ensure they get their medical. He will also discuss fatigue and how to obtain a special issuance authorization from a medical appeal.

Dr. Musick is a lifelong aviation enthusiast who has pursued simultaneous careers in both medicine and aviation. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and is board-certified in anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology. He was trained by the U.S. Air Force as a flight surgeon. He has been an aviation medical examiner for more than 20 years and is a senior AME.

Dr. Musick has also pursued his aviation career, receiving his CFII and commercial ratings in the 1970s and has added the ATP, A&P/IA ratings to his “ticket.” He fights fires from the air in an Air Tractor 802 and also flies agricultural aviation in an Air Tractor 502. Active in the warbirds, he flies the P-51 Mustang and the Corsair for the Commemorative Air Force and owns a T6 in which he performs at airshows. With more than 12,000 hours, he remains active in flying for hire and more importantly, understands the significance of a “trouble-free” medical. One of his talents is working through the maze of special issuance and helping airmen obtain flying status when they were convinced they would never be a PIC again.

It is rare to find someone well versed in the worlds of medicine and agricultural aviation. Dr. Stan Musick is the man in that regard. The good doctor has indicated to NAAA he will make himself available on the convention floor for further discussions with attendees after the General Session.

Food Trends with Lynn Henderson

To finish out one of the most comprehensive General Sessions NAAA has organized, you will hear from Lynn Henderson, the publisher and editorial director for Agri Marketing, the magazine that is the hub for agribusiness. Henderson will discuss food trends and the growing demand for sustainability and why it’s important to the aerial application industry to keep its pulse on these changes. Millennials are changing the way traditional agriculture operates. Things like sustainability, climate change, veganism and organic food production are of greater importance to millennials on average compared to older generations. The agricultural aviation industry needs to understand what drives these purchasing habits and if and how we might need to adapt to them. Henderson will help provide the insight needed to do just that. He will also discuss the dramatic increases by new organizations that have boosted the investment in agricultural technology and food sectors to $20 billion last year, an increase of 250% in the past five years.

Henderson formed the Adel, Iowa-based Henderson Communications LLC in 2005. He purchased Agri Marketing and its related properties from Doane Agricultural Services Company. Before forming Henderson Communications, Henderson was president and CEO of Doane, a leading provider of information and marketing advice to the agricultural and food/beverage industries.

Must-Attend Events!

We are continually updating the schedule of events for this year’s convention. Below are more must-attend events at the 2020 Ag Aviation Expo:

• Kickoff Breakfast Speaker changes: Kickoff Breakfast Speaker Damian Mason, Author of new book Food Fear: How Fear Is Ruining Your Dinner and Why You Should Celebrate Eating, Host of “The Business of Agriculture” and “Do Business Better” podcasts and Agricultural Comedian.
• General Session: Medical, Legal and Food Trends Affecting Ag Aviation – This session will feature substantive presentations about legal, medical and food trends occurring in the ag aviation nationally and how that might affect you and your business.
  
• NAAA Trade Show – featuring seven aircraft and an expected 120+ exhibitors. View the NAAA Trade Show Floor Plan to review the companies that will be visiting with attendees on the NAAA Trade Show floor.
  
• Aerial Application Technology Research Session and more than a dozen educational sessions where you can earn potential CEUs. (Review the list of CEUs; additional details will be posted as they become available this fall.)
• Excellence in Ag Aviation Banquet honoring individuals and companies in the aerial application industry.