| April 13, 2023 |
| Raise Awareness about Ag Aviation Activities in Your Area with NAAA’s Customizable ‘Preseason’ Press Release, Available to Members Only |
 With the 2023 aerial application season underway or soon to
be underway in different parts of the country, NAAA has prepared a customizable, do-it-yourself press release that members can use to call attention to the
fact that ag aircraft will soon be a common sight as ag pilots assist local
farmers during the new growing season. Read More |
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| NAAA Addresses Drone and Ag Aviator Safety on RFD-TV’s Market Day Report |
NAAA CEO Andrew Moore discussed the association’s safety recommendations
for drone operators operating within the vicinity of low-altitude
manned ag aircraft on RFD-TV’s Market Day Report on Monday. During the live phone interview, Moore was asked how common
encounters between manned ag aircraft and drones are and how important
agricultural aviators are to farmers. Watch the full segment here. Read More |
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| Tim McPherson Hosts Open House at Fargo Air Museum |
Tall Towers Aviation operator Tim “Toby” McPherson hosted an open house
at the Fargo Air Museum on Wednesday, his second showing in as many
years at the air museum. For added exposure, Radio broadcaster Joel Heitkamp hosted his show at the museum from 8 to
11 a.m.
Read More |
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| NAAA’s ‘Ag Wings of Tomorrow’ Scholarship Returns with $20K Available in ’23 |
 Attention, operators and aspiring ag pilots: The NAAA “Ag Wings of
Tomorrow” Scholarship is back again! Thanks to the generous support of
BASF and Thrush Aircraft, $20,000 in aid is available through the 2023
NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship Program to assist four aspiring
ag pilots in their journey.
Read More |
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| Announcing DropFlight: An App That Makes Spray Pattern Testing a Snap |
With Operation S.A.F.E. season in full swing across much of the country, it’s time to get your aircraft pattern tested! A new tool—DropFlight—is now available to NAAA members to conduct their own spray pattern testing.
Read More |
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| Proposed AD for GE M601 and H80 Series Propeller Governors |
| The FAA has proposed adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for
certain GE Aviation M601E–11AS, M601E‐11S, H75–100, H80–100 and H85–100
model turboprop engines. These engines are known to be installed on Air
Tractor AT-400 and AT-500 series; Allied Ag Cat Productions Inc.
(formerly Grumman) G-164 series; and Thrush Aircraft (formerly Quality,
Ayres, Rockwell) 510G and S-2R series. Read More |
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| In Case You Missed It! |
| NAAA Cautions Hobbyist and Professional Drone Operators Not to Interfere with Low-Altitude Manned Agricultural Aircraft This Growing Season |
With another growing season getting underway at a time when aerial
application services are expected to be in high demand, on April 4, NAAA
sent a news release to aviation and agricultural media outlets advising unmanned aircraft
(UA) operators to be mindful of low-flying manned agricultural aircraft
operations.
Read More |
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| NAAA Aerial Advocacy in St. Louis: Headquarters of Kynetec, Corn and Bayer’s, Oh My! |
NAAA closed out March by continuing its visits with key stakeholders involved
in the collection on use-data, registration and use of pesticides for
crop safety and production. These visits were with Bayer CropScience,
Kynectec and the National Corn Growers Association.
Read More |
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| C-PAASS Debut Makes Cover of AgAir Update’s New Issue |
 The launch of NAAA and NAAREF’s new C-PAASS program made the cover of AgAir Update’s April issue. In the cover story, AgAir Update takes an in-depth look at the groundbreaking certification program for aerial applicators.
Read More |
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| GRASSROOTS ALERT: Let EPA Know New Changes to Application Exclusion Zone Rule are Bad for Aerial Application and Agriculture |
As NAAA reported last month, the EPA is proposing yet another round of
changes to the Application Exclusion Zone (AEZ) rule. First conceived in
2015 as part of the revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS),
the EPA intended the AEZ to be a moving buffer zone around pesticide
application equipment to protect workers from either drift or direct
spray. When someone enters the AEZ, the applicator must cease the
application. Confusion and agricultural industry objections to several
parts of the rule have led to several iterations of the AEZ rule,
culminating in the current proposed changes. Read More |
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| Exhibitor Details for the 2023 Ag Aviation Expo: Booth Sales for Aircraft & Large Booth Space Now Open |
 Join us for the 2023 Ag Aviation Expo in Palm Springs, California,
Dec. 4-7. In addition to attending the NAAA Ag Aviation Expo, Palm
Springs is full of great restaurants, bars, fun activities, and terrific
weather! Visit the Palm Springs Air Museum, enjoy an off road
or BMW driving experience, play golf, visit museums and even gamble at a
casino close to the convention center.
Read More |
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| FAA’s GA Survey Data Collection for 2022 Continues – Please Participate if Invited |
| The FAA’s annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey (GA
Survey) is ongoing. There has been a strong start, but they still need
many more responses to reach their targeted response rate. If you are
selected to participate in the GA Survey, you will receive an email or
postcard invitation asking you to complete the survey online. Read More |
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| NAAA Visits Corteva Headquarters to Discuss Aerial Application Technologies and Pesticide Registrations for Aerial Applications |
NAAA visited Corteva, the global crop protection product manufacturer,
at its headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, in late March. The
meeting’s focus was to continue to work together to help facilitate the
registration of pesticide products manufactured by the company for
aerial use by using more realistic industry data and more
realistic aerial application variables within Tier 3 of the AgDRIFT
atmospheric model on drift. Read More |
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| Aerial Applicator Michael Cruce Discusses the Advantages of Aerial Application in New Syngenta Video |
Watch Michael Cruce, the president of the Illinois Agricultural Aviation
Association, discuss the benefits of aerial fungicide spraying and how
aerial application in general improves crop yields for farmers in a new
Syngenta video titled, “Fungicides Flying High: The Speed and Precision
of Aerial Application.” Read More |
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| It’s Here! Application Now Open for C-PAASS 2023—Certified-Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward |
 Aerial applicators, now more than ever, operate in an environment of
competing interests. An ever-increasing demand for timely and effective
applications is challenged by factors such as added regulatory burden,
rising insurance costs and stiffer pesticide label language, just to
name a few. The agricultural aviation industry is rising to these
challenges and, in character, has moved to advance education, rather
than regulation, as the path forward.
Read More |
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| Nominations Open for 2023 NAAA Awards! |
 Do you have a rising pilot within your ranks? Do you admire certain
NAAA members for their outstanding service to the industry or their
community? The aerial application industry is filled with exceptional
people who go above and beyond the call of duty, often with little
fanfare. Make someone’s day or year by nominating them for a
2023 NAAA Award.
Read More |
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| NAAA Ag Aviation Expo Hotel Room Block Open |
The NAAA hotel room block is now open for the 2023 Ag Aviation Expo in
Palm Springs, California, Dec. 4-7. The Ag Aviation Expo will provide
you with networking, education and fun in a great city full of
restaurants and bars, nightlife, shopping and attractions. It is important for attendees to stay in
the NAAA room block. We get the best hotel room rates for our attendees,
and if the NAAA hotel block is not filled, we cannot offer great rates
for future years! Read More |
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| Important Call for GPS Data to Protect Manned Ag Aircraft from Drones |
In 2022, an FAA advisory committee weighted with drone
interests from Amazon, Google and other unmanned corporate interests
suggested that the agency promulgate rules that drones operating beyond
visual line of sight be permitted to:
- Increase their weight to 1,320 pounds
- Not equip with ADS-B identification technology
- Not give the right of way to manned aircraft when operating in
rural, low-altitude airspace because they claimed there are no other
users of this airspace.
As an ag aviator, you know these requests to be patently unsafe and
based on false premises. As such, we call on you to help us collect
information on ag aircraft’s use of the low-altitude airspace. Read More |
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| NAAA Releases Book of the Century! Buy It Today |
 To commemorate agricultural
aviation’s 100th anniversary, NAAA is pleased to present Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application. NAAA’s meticulously sourced book is based on a collective history of the industry based on material from Agricultural Aviation magazine, AgAir Update, Low & Slow and other resources. Agriculture’s Air Force is a true keepsake. Order your copy today!
Read More |
|
 for
certain GE Aviation M601E–11AS, M601E‐11S, H75–100, H80–100 and H85–100
model turboprop engines. These engines are known to be installed on Air
Tractor AT-400 and AT-500 series; Allied Ag Cat Productions Inc.
(formerly Grumman) G-164 series; and Thrush Aircraft (formerly Quality,
Ayres, Rockwell) 510G and S-2R series.){kind=small}
 operators to be mindful of low-flying manned agricultural aircraft
operations.){kind=small}
 rule. First conceived in
2015 as part of the revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS),
the EPA intended the AEZ to be a moving buffer zone around pesticide
application equipment to protect workers from either drift or direct
spray. When someone enters the AEZ, the applicator must cease the
application. Confusion and agricultural industry objections to several
parts of the rule have led to several iterations of the AEZ rule,
culminating in the current proposed changes.){kind=small}
 is ongoing. There has been a strong start, but they still need
many more responses to reach their targeted response rate. If you are
selected to participate in the GA Survey, you will receive an email or
postcard invitation asking you to complete the survey online.){kind=small}
