NAAA member Doug Thiel discussed his career as an agricultural aviator on Pilots, Props and Planes, a show airing on public television in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. The agricultural aviation segment also highlighted the significance of the century-old industry to farmers and consumers.

Thiel owns Thiel Air Care in Chowchilla, California. During a sit-down interview with host Bill Vasilovich, Thiel discussed how he got into the agricultural aviation profession, why making aerial applications at night is common in central California, the advantages of aerial application, particularly for tree crops like almonds and pistachios grown in San Joaquin Valley—“With 80% of their crop being in the top 25% of the canopy of the tree, that’s where we are most effective,” he explained—the G-forces ag pilots experience, how the hands-on, stick-and-rudder nature of flying an ag aircraft is aided by technology in the cockpit, how one might become an ag pilot, and finally how his Air Tractor AT-802 came to supply the sound of Dusty Crophopper’s engine in the Disney films Planes and Planes: Fire & Rescue.

The episode of Pilots, Props and Planes is available for viewing here (enter password PPPEp4 to access it).

From start to finish, the segment is arguably one of the best media pieces on ag aviation you will ever see. NAAA commends Thiel for a job well done promoting the aerial application profession!