September 27, 2018
NAAA eNewsletter

FAA Reauthorization: A Step Backward on Tower Marking, but a Step Forward on Drone Regulation

Over the weekend, House and Senate negotiators reached an agreement on a five-year FAA reauthorization. Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill by a vote of 398-23. The Senate is expected to approve the bill too once its schedule opens up to allow for the vote.

 

Bowing to the powerful communications industry, the bill contains language that would solely require the logging into a database communication towers in rural areas between 50 and 200 vertical feet and an above-ground base up to 10 feet in diameter. Unlike meteorological evaluation towers, or METs, communication towers meeting this physical description wouldn’t have to both mark their towers and log their coordinates into a database, they would just be required to log coordinates into a database.

 

In 2016, NAAA was successful in having Congress enact a law requiring the marking and logging of such towers into a database. The wireless communications industry came out in force against these marking requirements and, again, under this bill, communication towers that meet the 2016 requirements must be marked or placed into a database, but they would not be required to do both. MET towers would still be required to be both marked and put in a database.

 

Congressman Sam Graves (R-MO) pushed for language that non-MET towers constructed before the regulation goes into effect would have a choice to either mark or log into a database (METs would be required to do both); however, all newly constructed towers should be both marked and put into a database. The NAAA/Graves proposed compromise addressed the communication tower industry’s biggest arguments of the cost and safety challenges of marking existing, erected  towers. All future towers could be properly marked before the tower is erected to address these concerns.

 

Despite this compromise not making it through, this will not be the last time NAAA visits with Congress on this issue. The NTSB is in the process of potentially revising a safety alert by recommending all towers fitting these physical characteristics (under 200 feet, narrow circumference) regardless if they are METs or communication towers be properly marked and logged. When this safety alert is issued, it should be an important tool in convincing more members of Congress to strengthen tower marking requirements. Additionally, Congressman Graves is a contender to be Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during the next Congress should Republicans hold the House of Representatives.

FAA Reauthorization and UAVs

The FAA reauthorization bill does contain some critical provisions concerning the safety of UAVs, most importantly the repeal of Section 336 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, something NAAA has previously asked for. Under section 336, the FAA does not have the authority to regulate model aircraft. The repeal of section 336 means the FAA could impose vital safety requirements on drone hobbyists, such as tracking and ID requirements. The proposal also requires hobbyists take an aeronautical knowledge and safety test, as well as register their aircraft with the FAA.

 

Language is also included allowing the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to "identify, seize or destroy errant drones" if the agencies deem they pose a threat such as interfering with critical infrastructure like prisons, military bases or power plants.

 

Additionally, a provision inserted by Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), would make it a crime to fly a UAV near a wildfire, interrupting aerial firefighting operations. A violation of this law would be punishable by a fine or up to two years in prison.

Wis. Operator Takes Action After Third UAV Near Miss

A Wisconsin operator nearly collided with a UAV on the way back to his airstrip this month. On Sept. 10, at 3:31 p.m. CT, Jim Perrin, the owner/operator of Agricair Flying Service Inc., was ferrying back to his airstrip in Bancroft, Wis., to get another load when he suddenly noticed a drone centered directly in his windshield. About two miles out from his airstrip, “literally just in the blink of an eye, my windshield was completely full of drone,” Perrin said. It was close enough that he could see the blades of what appeared to be a six-rotor helicopter drone.

 

Perrin immediately rolled the airplane into a 90-degree bank to the right, then immediately rolled back to the left to try to reacquire visual contact. At that point he noticed a van parked in the southeast corner of a potato field that happened to belong to one of his large customers. The conditions were clear and sunny, which enabled Perrin to pick up the UAV’s shadow coming out of his turn. He watched it begin its descent to land.

 

“As I was finishing the 360-degree turn, I looked down at my altimeter and it was between 500 and 550 feet AGL, above ground level, which struck me as odd, because I thought, what in the world is a drone doing up here? But then I rationalized it by saying, ‘Well, maybe I pulled back on the stick when I turned.’ Maybe I was straying lower.”

 

Perrin can’t say for sure how close his UAV encounter was, but based on the size in his windshield, he estimates he was within 25 yards of hitting the drone head on while ferrying at nearly 160 mph. “I can’t even begin to tell you how I missed this thing. I shouldn’t have missed it. It may have been a little further away, but if I missed it, which I did, it had to literally be by inches,” Perrin said. “Had this thing been 50 feet to the right or the left, or 50 feet below me, I’d have never seen it.”

 

A subsequent conversation Perrin had with the drone company the next day confirmed that the UAV had been above the 400-feet ceiling set for small UAS operations. It wasn’t the first breach for the UAV service. In fact, the Sept. 10 incident was Agricair Flying Service’s third close call with the UAV company this summer. The first two incidents happened in June and July, but Perrin did not report them because he knew which drone company was involved and wanted to work with them to maintain clear lines of communications to avoid future encounters.

 

“We’ve had a number of close calls. Two of the incidents now have been very, very close,” Perrin said. “We had one incident early on where the drone stopped right off the wing tip of [my pilot Mike Lavell’s] airplane, and then this one where it was in the windshield. But outside from that, between [Reabe Spraying Service] and myself there’s been a total of six close calls that we know of,” Perrin said.

 

Perrin called Damon Reabe, the operator of Reabe Spraying Service and Dairyland Aviation, that night to let Reabe know about the close call Perrin had had, since both of their operations were familiar with the UAV company involved.

 

Neither Perrin’s nor Reabe Spraying Service’s operations are alone in encountering a UAV while performing aerial application operations. According to NAAA’s recently completed season-ending survey of Part 137 operators, nearly 1 out of 5 operators (18 percent) said their company had encountered a UAV while operating an ag aircraft this year.

 

The third close call was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Perrin. He reported the Sept. 10 incident to the FAA. “This one was close enough that it wouldn’t have only been damaging to an airplane; it would have been fatal.”

 

“I fly in an environment where people call the police and call the Department of Agriculture, and they call government agencies pretty frequently. And because of that, I really have an aversion to calling law enforcement, or I have an aversion to turning these people in,” Perrin said. “We’ve been trying to work with them all summer.”

 

The system Perrin and the UAV company put in place worked fairly well, just not well enough in this case. “They were calling us, or texting us, and telling us which field that they would be in at what times. And then when they moved, they would call us and tell us.” Likewise, Perrin would adjust his spray schedule to work around the UAV service’s field work so that the UAV workers would not have to worry about reentry intervals. “Honestly, they dropped the ball and quit paying attention,” he said.

 

After the UAV company’s third near miss, Perrin regrets not reporting the prior incidents now. He followed the checklist NAAA developed of steps to take after a UAV encounter to report the Sept. 10 incident. That night when Perrin got back to his office, his wife Julie had already laid out the materials he needed from the checklist. “On the checklist, she had the FSDO’s phone number. She had the NASA form printed out with the checklist. All I had to do was sit down and go through this thing step by step.” The only thing Perrin did not do on the checklist was contact local law enforcement because he already knew which drone company was involved in the incident and who the operators were.

 

The next morning, Perrin had to fly right away, so Reabe offered to call their local Flight Standards Office (FSO) in Milwaukee and brief their principal maintenance inspector and the manager of the Milwaukee FSO on his colleague and competitor’s behalf. As a result, the FSO was already aware of the situation by the time Perrin called them after his morning jobs were complete.

 

“Not only did Damon call while I was flying, but he also got one of his pilots to write a statement. So not only did the [FSO] hear about it just from me, they heard about it from my competitor as well, which obviously lends a lot of credence to what happened,” Perrin said. “We were fortunate in the fact that our competitor ... unfortunate that they had the same problems, but fortunate that we were able to work together to get some action going on this.”

 

In aviation, the margin for error can be razor thin. Both parties can do everything right 99 percent of the time, but the one time you let up or they slip up, it could be catastrophic. The disheartening thing about Perrin’s situation is the drone operators involved fell short of their professional duties to ensure safe drone operations. The UAV company was 107 certificated, and Perrin says the drone operators were commercially rated pilots. “Here’s the kick,” he said. “They broke the law, they were well above 400 feet, and they were not monitoring their drone. They were sitting in the van. If they had been standing outside of the van, they would have A, heard me coming, and B, seen me coming. They did neither.” The drone operators also did not give the manned aircraft the right of way and yield, which is another violation of Part 107.

 

“I feel an obligation to Mike, my pilot. I feel an obligation to [Damon] Reabe’s pilots that this has got to end. And I feel an obligation to the rest of the industry that the NASA form needs to be filled out. The numbers have to be tallied,” Perrin said. “And what I regret in all of this is, the very first near miss we had should have been reported. And that’s why I do feel a little foolish about this whole thing.”

Checklist After a UAV Encounter with an Ag Aircraft

NAAA’s UAV encounter checklist provides guidance to operators and pilots on who to notify in the event of a UAV incident in flight. The full checklist is available here to print out. It contains the following steps along with NAAA’s advice.

  1. Inform Local Law Enforcement
  2. Report it to the FAA National Safety Hotline
  3. Call your Local Flight Standards Office (FSO)
  4. File a NASA Aviation Safety Report
  5. Tell Other Pilots
  6. Notify Local News Media and Ag Trade Press
  7. Inform Your Customers, Ag Retailers and Crop Consultants
  8. Contact Your Insurance Agent if Warranted

In addition to its UAV checklist, NAAA is available to offer additional assistance in the event of a near miss. Contact NAAA at (202) 546-5722 for further support.

DOJ Petitions Court for Rehearing on Chlorpyrifos Case

The U.S. Department of Justice has petitioned for a rehearing of the Ninth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals decision from Aug. 9 directing the EPA to revoke all tolerances and cancel all registrations for chlorpyrifos within 60 days.

 

Last month, NAAA and a coalition of industry partners sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler expressing concern over the ruling and urging a rehearing take place.

 

Secretary Perdue said in a statement, “USDA disagrees with the ruling ordering EPA to revoke tolerances and cancel registrations for chlorpyrifos. The decision appears to be based on a misunderstanding of both the available scientific information and EPA’s pesticide regulatory system… EPA should be allowed to continue its ongoing science-based and expert-led evaluation of chlorpyrifos, which is part of EPA’s registration review program that covers all pesticides.”

 

“The arbitrary, immediate, and total loss of this crop protection tool endangers agricultural industries and is expected to have wide economic impacts. Given the court’s incorrect assessment of the scientific evidence, we thank the Department of Justice for continuing to fight on behalf of American farmers and consumers in support of science-based regulatory oversight of crucial crop protection tools.”

 

Additionally, EPA spokesman Michael Abboud said, "This opinion nullifies the FIFRA process, violating a congressionally mandated statute. EPA takes science and health issues very seriously, but we must work within the legal process established by Congress."

 

Corteva Agriscience, a major manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, released a statement saying, “We believe the Department of Justice petition for rehearing of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in this case is justified. Chlorpyrifos is a critical pest management tool used by growers around the world to manage a large number of pests that can destroy crops, and regulatory bodies in 79 countries have looked at the science, carefully evaluated the product and its significant benefits and continued to approve its use. We will continue to support the growers who need this important product.”

 

The court ruling stems from a petition filed in 2007 by the Pesticide Action Network North America and the Natural Resources Defense Council. As a result, the Obama administration’s EPA proposed to revoke all food tolerances for chlorpyrifos. NAAA met with EPA to discuss its proposed decision on the chlorpyrifos ban and submitted comments to keep chlorpyrifos on the market for aerial application. NAAA communicated to EPA the numerous technologies used in our industry addressing on-target application of crop protection products.

 

If the full Ninth Circuit rejects the rehearing, or if the full court agrees with the previous ruling, the Trump administration has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court.

National Agricultural Aviation Museum Execs Excited about Start of Renovations

After a lengthy planning process, the National Agricultural Aviation Museum renovation campaign has shifted into action mode. Phase one of several planned upgrades kicked off in mid-September, starting with the installation of new entrance and exit facades to the Jackson, Miss.-based museum.

 

 

Construction signs indicating renovations at the National Agricultural Aviation Museum  

The first phase of renovations is expected to be completed by the end of September, paving the way for more enhancements when the second phase of renovations begins. Those upgrades will get underway once the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum Foundation secures enough funds to complete the estimated $240,000 renovation project. The foundation is nearly $100,000 away from achieving full funding.

 

The National Agricultural Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame is housed inside the main gallery of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson, Miss. The 4,500-square-foot exhibit was developed in 1983 to educate the public on the importance of aerial application and the advancements within the agricultural aviation industry. The current renovation project will result in a complete overhaul of that space.

 

To learn more about the project, NAAA interviewed Aaron Rodgers and Doug Parkin, the executive directors of the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum and the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum Foundation, respectively. The interview has been lightly edited for space and clarity.

 

NAAA: What is the purpose of the National Agricultural Aviation Museum?

 

Aaron Rodgers:The purpose of the National Ag Aviation Museum is to present the past, the present and the future of ag aviation to generations that have experienced the beginnings of it as well as future generations to potentially inspire their potential career opportunities.

 

NAAA: Where do your visitors come from and how many visitors does the museum get?

 

Rodgers: We’ve had as many as 140,000 visitors at the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum and National Ag Aviation Museum in a year. We have visitors from all over the world. I think our country count right now is over 30. And all over the United States. We get a lot of school groups from Mississippi but also school groups from neighboring states that come through. Last year we had over 20,000 18 and younger with school groups, with homeschool groups, with the clubs and things like that, coming through the museum.

 

NAAA: Renovating the National Agricultural Aviation Museum has been in the planning stages for a while, and now it’s starting to happen. What are these renovations going to do for the NAA Museum in your view?

 

Rodgers:  I think anytime that you can take something that was designed 40 years ago and give it a big facelift and work on retelling the narrative of what it means, you’re going to reconnect with a different audience. Or you’re going to connect with a different audience and potentially reconnect with people that may have seen it a handful of times. So it’s something that we really look forward to promoting. We think that the promotion that we do is going to get a lot of new visitors to come in and a lot of visitors that have been here a handful of times to also realize that we’re making some changes, that we’re interested in progressing as a museum. We believe that the ag industry in all of its forms also progresses and that we need to be at the forefront of demonstrating that.

 

 

Renovations underway inside the National Agricultural Aviation Museum

 

NAAA: Have you considered developing or making you current exhibit portable or mobile in any way so that it could be showcased at other aviation museums or other agricultural museums around the country to help promote the benefits of agricultural aviation, possibly as part of a reciprocal sharing agreement if other museums had exhibits they could share?

 

Rodgers: We absolutely have thought about that. And that’s something that we can do. Museums do loan each other exhibits all the time. We’re working on the renovation of the space first and making sure that we really nail both the look and the historic narrative, the narrative of the future, the Hall of Fame going forward. Then we’re looking at ways that we can develop some traveling exhibits that hopefully will go out all over the United States, potentially the world. That’s something that we’d absolutely love to see.

 

Doug Parkin: There’s two challenges that come to mind for me right off the top. And one is that's extremely expensive. We definitely have to get past this renovation and then continue getting the funding to do that. Because I don’t see a [portable exhibit] as a profit centered item. I tend to see it as an expense to do that. The other thing is that you have to consider what you’re going to be able to take because it’s a tremendous amount of wear and tear on pieces. Loading them and unloading them and setting them up for display when they were on a truck. You have to give a lot of consideration to the practicality of doing something. We’ve had a lot of conversations about it, but that is still going to be an in-the-future item.

 

NAAA: Getting back to the current renovations, you’ve been working with your architectural and engineering firm, Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons. Were there any major takeaways that struck you from their analysis in terms of what the museum has going for it already and what it could or should be going forward?

 

Rodgers:  I think whenever you have the opportunity to look at something from a new perspective, it really could open your eyes to the possibilities of what’s there. What we’ve done in the past here at the museum is that it just always existed in a certain way. And it was really great to have some people that weren’t associated with the museum come in and say, “Hey, you know, you can view these planes from a different way. You can tell this story in a different way. You can use this wall here to really make the whole thing feel very different than what you had before.” And that’s the stuff that I’m just so enjoying watching right now. It already feels different one weekend into the renovation.

 

NAAA: What do the NAA Museum and museums in general need to do to stay relevant in the 21st century?

 

Parkin: Like Aaron was saying, I think you just have to look at it a different way—find something more exciting to do, find a better way to tell the story of the individual features and maybe even narrow it down. Don’t just overwhelm people with number of things in the museum but with the quality and the expression of the story.

 

NAAA: A simulator has been cited as something that would be a great “want to have” addition to the NAA Museum, but that’s not an easy thing to acquire. What do you think that would add to the experience?

 

Parkin:I think that something will happen on that. There are two conversations going on, two different tracks of how that might happen. If we were to buy it outright, everybody knows that the cost is extremely high, so it would equal a huge portion of just the renovation itself. We need to find a means of reducing that cost. We don’t need a full-scale real-life simulator; we need something that will get a kid in the air and give them an experience of excitement that somewhat resembles flying a crop duster. But it would give them some sense of that excitement and bring the whole exhibit to life. Once they get in something like that and have a hands-on experience, then I think they’ll see everything else from a different perspective.

 

NAAA: Can you talk about where the National Agricultural Aviation Museum renovation project is at now and what it is going to take to get it to the next level? We reported in the last issue of Agricultural Aviation that you were $100,000 away from fully funding the renovation project.

 

Parkin: Love to. And the $100,000 mention is just—we were actually flabbergasted. We had had some various quotes over the past two years, and when it came down to getting somebody signed on, it was more expensive than we had planned for phase one, so we shaved a couple of features back that made sense. We are building an observation deck to allow people a different perspective on looking down into a cockpit. And that would require an accessibility lift, a small, open-area elevator basically. That’s also where we had hoped to plant the simulator. We pushed [the timetable for] that platform back, and right now we’re focusing on the walls, particularly the background wall behind the airplanes which will feature some tremendous murals.… And then working on the carpets and getting those done. That’s going to be neat because it’s got a built-in fade into the carpet, so it will transition in colors from the pathway over to the exhibit area. And we’re trying to create a more open atmosphere around the planes and features without allowing direct access to them. Just trying to get people a little bit closer in and different angles than what we’ve had before.

 

The money is what limits everything. I mean, money cures all evils. It really does. So, we’re trying to be very conscientious but at the same time to move forward completely and get to where we want to be. Yes, we will definitely need additional funding. When we receive memorials and gifts, I try to point out to people that at some point after we finish this renovation they can come by and see it and feel very comfortable and confident in the fact that their donation made a difference in the improvements that we’ve made. They participated in it.

 

NAAA: How would you describe the link between NAAA and the National Agricultural Aviation Museum?

 

Parkin: From my perspective at the Foundation, it’s really been great because I’ve been able to get over and meet with them and present the story and build consensus between the Foundation and the NAAA—to understand that we really want to help tell that story of agricultural aviation in a meaningful way and step it up. Forty years ago what we had was great, but it’s just time to freshen it up.

 

NAAA: What are your plans for the National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame housed within the NAA Museum?

 

Rodgers: One of the things that we find, with that Hall of Fame and a lot of other Hall of Fames, is that sometimes the information presented is really specific to industry. A lot of laypeople that know about those industries, oftentimes ... we’ll gloss over it a little bit, as it’s just a little too technical. What we’re looking to do with the new Hall of Fame is put it into a timeline which anyone could understand. Certainly, present those Hall of Fame members and their contributions individually in that but show someone who might not have a background in ag aviation not just what they were doing but why it was important. And doing that in a chronological way. I think the neat thing about that is it’s going to give future members, people that are in flying school right now or engineering school or may not even be born yet a path to look down and say, “You know what? I can be on this wall. This is something that I can do because I can solve this problem in aviation or this problem in agriculture.”

 

NAAA: What are some of the things that will go into phase two of the renovation?

 

Rodgers: The Hall of Fame will be redone, the historic narrative’s going to be redone. And I’d really like to add some sections that touch on the importance of aerial application in modern agriculture—21st century agriculture and feeding the world. And just how far agriculture has come in terms of production and how instrumental aerial application is into those massive increases in production.

 

Parkin: Some of the other aspects will be some very nice artifact display cases that will get things up and a little bit more visible. Put them on a kid’s eyeball level. And then, of course, the viewing platform with the new perspective on viewing down into the planes. Or at least into one of them. Having that accessibility factor in the lift and in, again, the simulator. Trying to focus our lighting to highlight features.

 

NAAA: Any parting thoughts?

 

Rodgers: We’re excited to be going to the convention in Reno again this year. I’ve just had such a good time meeting so many of the pilots, meeting industry leaders, meeting allied industry leaders. And we really look forward to presenting this first phase of this renovation and talking with them about making sure that the second phase happens sooner rather than later.

 

Parkin: I really appreciate the interest and support that everybody’s had in moving forward on this. I appreciate the various state associations, too, that have come forward with some donations to us. That means a lot. And just the general attitude of everybody that, “Hey, yes, this thing is happening. It’s real.” We’ve talked about it long enough. We’re thrilled that we’ve got that consensus to move forward and it’s actually happening right this minute. That’s cool.

 

Renovations underway inside the National Agricultural Aviation Museum 

 

To contribute to the National Agricultural Aviation Museum Renovation Campaign, visit msagmuseumfoundation.org/support and click the “NAAM Donation” button to designate your donation to the NAAM Renovation Campaign. Donation checks may be mailed to: Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum Foundation, NAAM Renovation Campaign, Attn: Doug Parkin, Executive Director, P.O. Box 55621, Jackson, MS 39296.

Ag Aircraft Showcased at 2018 New York Stewart Air Show Along with U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and Other Vintage and Military Aircraft

Thousands of people gathered to take in the grandeur of vintage aircraft, modern military aircraft and agricultural aircraft during the annual New York Air Show at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y., in mid-September. Attending the event displaying the ag aircraft was ag pilot Mike Rutledge. Rutledge is the commanding officer of the West Point Aviation Department and Executive Flight Detachment at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., just off the Hudson River and near New Windsor. He also flies an AT-502 for Lutes Flying Service in Shipshewana, Ind., during the summer when he’s not teaching character development and military leadership at West Point. Rutledge is also a former Navy SEAL.

 

 

After an overwhelming response to his 2017 flying display with an AT-602, Bryan Lilley Airshows asked Rutledge to return for the 2018 performer lineup. He flew an AT-504 supplied by Air Tractor dealer Farm Air Inc. to the New York Airshow to perform an ag flying demonstration in a region where folks don't likely, if ever, see ag planes. Rutledge’s performance was accompanied by an insightful commentary on the capabilities and benefits of modern aerial application. Rutledge was in good company; the United States Air Force Thunderbirds were the air show’s main attraction along with several unlimited aerobatic acts and WWII displays. The New York Stewart Airshow is the largest airshow in the Northeast. Over 50,000 attendees were at the show and Rutledge gave seven inspectors from the FAA’s New York Flight Standards District Office a presentation on the AT-504 aircraft, systems, and capabilities of modern ag planes. He performed a perfectly choreographed demonstration for the FAA and International Council of Airshows Evaluator to earn permission to fly in the Air Show’s performance box.


Other major attractions at the New York Air Show were Mike Whiskus in the Lucas Oil Pitts, Matt Chapman in the Extra 330, and Kent Pietsch in his Interstate cadet, a WWII P-40 aerobatic demonstration, along with B-17 and B-25 performances. The U.S. Air Force was represented with aerial demos by C-17 and KC-135 demo teams, as well as U.S. Navy EA-18 Growlers.


In addition to the demonstration, Rutledge also promoted the importance of agricultural aviation to food, fiber and biofuel production, as well as to forestry and public health protection, by distributing NAAA’s  “Flying for Your Food” brochure.

It’s Time to Renew Your 2019 NAAA Membership

Thank you for your 2018 NAAA membership; we appreciate your continued support. You will soon receive your membership renewal information in the mail; however, there is no need to wait!  You can renew your membership online by logging into your account in the upper right-hand corner. Once you’ve logged in, click Membership Renewal on the left-hand toolbar.



NAAA membership is as important as ever as NAAA needs resources to continue working to ensure EPA registers a healthy inventory of crop protection products for aerial use without restrictions. NAAA continues to advocate daily on these and other important issues for the safety and continuity of the aerial application industry. Continue to protect your interests and strengthen the ag aviation today by renewing online today. 

RECENT SUCCESSES

2017/2018 have been successful for public relations. NAAA continued its advertising campaign in Farm Journal, which directs readers to NAAA’s website and its “Find an Aerial Applicator” search function. The publication has a circulation of nearly 350,000 farmers nationwide.

 

NAAA also attended EAA AirVenture for the third consecutive year to spread the word about the importance of agricultural aviation as well as recruit the next generation of ag pilots who will provide the aerial application services farmers depend on.

Click here to read the complete 2017 NAAA Activity Summary.

POLICY PRIORITIES

NAAA is your wingman in Washington D.C. and is dedicated to lobbying and advocating on your behalf on the following issues affecting the industry:

  • Protecting ag aircraft from UAVs by advocating UAVs be equipped with safety enhancing equipment such as ADSB-Out, visible strobe lights, and tracking and ID technology.
  • Ensuring the safety of low-flying ag aircraft by working to preserve and implement the marking requirements for communication towers under 200 feet.
  • Continually evolving education programs and services such as the Professional Aerial Applicators’ Support System (PAASS) that reduce aviation accidents and save lives. PAASS attendees can receive potential discounts through their insurance providers. PAASS and other NAAA education programs also qualify for continuing education units applicators use to renew their commercial pesticides licenses. 
  • Eliminating unnecessary, duplicative and burdensome regulations such as eliminating NPDES permitting requirements for aerial pesticide applications over or near water and ensuring local governments do not ban the use of federally registered crop protection products.
  • Opposing efforts to eliminate the ag aviation fuel tax exemption; opposing the levy of user fees for ag aircraft flights; and resist efforts to lengthen the time to depreciate ag aircraft purchases.
  • Obtaining federal funding for USDA aerial application research, enhancing our stewardship and efficiency.

MEMBER PERKS

You can read more about the benefits of NAAA Membership online. We are just a phone call or email away to answer your questions! Contact the NAAA office at (202) 546-5722 or renew online today!  Log into your account in the upper right hand corner. Once you’ve logged in, click Membership Renewal on the left-hand toolbar (as seen in the graphic below).



Thank you for your continued support.

AUTO RENEWAL INFORMATION

Make it easy to renew by signing up for auto renewal.  NAAA offers auto renewal for membership and NAAREF donations. When you sign up for auto renewal, NAAA will automatically charge the credit card on file every Sept. 1st (increasing 3% each year, rounded up to the next $5 increment). There are four ways to sign up for auto renewal:

  1. When you receive your renewal statement in September, mark the box in the payment area for auto renewal.
  2. Renew your membership online and you’ll be asked during the process if you’d like auto renewal.
  3. Call the NAAA office at 202-546-5722 and request auto renewal.

Return the membership form in the next Agricultural Aviation magazine and mark the box in the payment area for auto renewal.

Pre-Register for the Ag Aviation Expo to Avoid Long Lines Onsite

We look forward to seeing you at the 2018 Ag Aviation Expo in Reno, Dec. 3–6 at the Atlantis and Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Avoid long lines onsite and save money by pre-registering for the Ag Aviation Expo by Nov. 3. You can now register online for the Ag Aviation Expo or you can print and mail a registration form.

 

We are continually updating the schedule of events for this year’s convention and we are excited to announce a few of our exciting events scheduled for this December:

Additional details for the 2018 NAAA Ag Aviation Expo

  • Dates: Dec. 3-6, 2018
  • Location: Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and Reno-Sparks Convention Center
  • Schedule of Events: Current schedule here. Subject to change.
  • Hotel: Hotel Details Below
  • Auction Donations: Thank you to Pratt & Whitney Canada for their donation of a PT6-34AG Engine to this year’s NAAA Live Auction. The earlier you inform us of your auction donation, the more advertising you’ll receive on the NAAA website and in NAAA publications. Support the aerial application industry by donating an item today. Email Lindsay with your donation details.
  • Attendee Registration: Now Open 
  • Exhibitor Booth Sales: Now Open
  • Sponsorship Opportunities: View the sponsorship opportunities. Please email Lindsay if you would like to secure a sponsorship from last year or to discuss 2018 opportunities! We offer sponsorships for all budget sizes.

Book Your Hotel Room

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa is a world-class, AAA rated Four Diamond resort destination. A splendid oasis created for relaxation, celebration and rejuvenation, the Atlantis has always been a favorite resort destination for travelers near and far. Recognized for luxurious accommodations, a world class revitalizing spa and salon, award-winning dining and fun casino action. This is not the same Reno from the early 2000s; the city is rapidly changing, and it has become ground zero for a new technology boom that has helped spawn amazing restaurants, microbreweries, bars, shopping and nightclubs. Having a new vibrancy all its own, Reno is a cool and unique place to visit.

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa

  • Rate: $109/night + taxes (NAAA has negotiated to waive the resort fee. Included in your room rate is complimentary in room Wi-Fi or wired internet, self-parking, use of fitness center, use of indoor pool, extended check out time of 12 p.m. and complimentary airport shuttle service)
  • Reservations: Book Online Here or call (800) 723-6500 and reference the NAAA Convention (SNAA18).  Online reservations require a deposit of one night’s room charge + taxes. Call-in reservations will not be charged a deposit but require a credit card to hold reservations
  • Block Deadline: Monday, Nov. 12
  • Hotel Address: 3800 S. Virginia St. Reno, NV 89502
  • Airport Shuttle: Atlantis provides a free airport shuttle that runs at 15 and 45 minutes after the hour from 5:15 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. leaving the airport. The shuttle leaves the hotel on the hour and 30 minutes after the hour from 5 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.

NAAA and NAAREF Board Meetings Next Week

We look forward to seeing you in Palm Springs, Calif., for our October NAAA and NAAREF committee and board meetings. Most meetings take place Oct. 5–6 with a couple of meetings beginning on Oct. 4. PAASS Train the Trainer will take place Oct. 3–4. All meetings are open to NAAA members.


You can view a schedule here. Please email Lindsay Barber if you will plan to attend the meetings.

Location

Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel
888 E Tahquitz Canyon Way
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Local phone (760) 322-6000
The hotel offers a complimentary airport shuttle from 5 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily.