NAAA Works with Stakeholders in Virginia to Combat a One-Week Pesticide Notification Bill; Beware of Anti-Pesticide Bills in Your State
As state legislators get back into session, now is the time to be on the lookout for potential bills aimed at restricting aerial applications. Case in point, last week NAAA learned of a proposed house bill in Virginia that would require all agricultural aviators making an aerial application west of the Blue Ridge Mountains to provide seven-day notification for all such applications. The notifications had to include the specific date and time the aerial application was intended to be made.
NAAA responded by putting together a fact sheet that laid out the importance of aerial applications in Virginia and highlighted some of the severe consequences of forcing all aerial applications to be postponed seven days in order to comply with the proposed law. It also detailed the EPA’s registration process, which ensures a pesticide can be applied aerially in a safe manner, and the technology used in modern ag aviation operations to ensure accurate and safe applications. Click here to view the fact sheet.
NAAA sent the fact sheet to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Farm Bureau, CropLife America and a Virginia-based aerial application operation. NAAA will continue to monitor the situation and provide additional information as required. NAAA stands ready to assist state ag aviation associations with the information they may need to stave off burdensome and unnecessary regulations affecting ag aviation.
FAA Moves Rule Forward Mandating Safety Management System Use for Charter, Commuter and Air Tour Operators
Earlier this week, the FAA proposed a rule that requires charter, commuter and air tour operators and aircraft manufacturers to implement the safety approach known as Safety Management System (SMS), a set of policies and procedures where companies identify, monitor and address potential operational hazards early on, before they become serious problems. U.S. airlines have been required to have SMS since 2018.
The FAA has strongly encouraged aviation industry members other than scheduled airlines to voluntarily implement SMS. Boeing, Bell, GE, P&W and Sikorsky all have approved SMS programs.
The proposed rule goes beyond the requirements of the Aircraft Certification, Safety and Accountability Act of 2020, which directed the FAA to mandate SMS only for aircraft manufacturers. The rule also addresses recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board and independent review panels. Compliance times would vary between one and two years after the rule took effect, depending on the operation.
The public comment period on the proposed rule will run for 60 days.
Covington Challenge a Stunning Success for Funding NAAREF and Ag Aviation Safety
In honor of its 50th anniversary, Covington Aircraft Engines launched the Covington Challenge in December of 2022 to raise funds for NAAREF. Covington pledged to match all donations up to a total of $50,000 made to NAAREF by Dec. 31, 2022. A total of $16,745 was donated to NAAREF before the deadline was up. In an amazing display of generosity and a commitment to ag aviation safety, Covington Aircraft went ahead and donated the full $50,000 to NAAREF! NAAA and NAAREF truly appreciate Covington’s generous donation and continued commitment to ag aviation safety and environmental professionalism. NAAA salutes Covington Aircraft Engines on its 50th anniversary of supporting aerial applicators as one of the industry’s premier radial and turbine engine overhaul facilities.
While the Covington Challenge is officially over, it’s never too late to donate to NAAREF. NAAREF programs include PAASS, which provides annual safety and environmental professionalism training for aerial applicators across the U.S. Operation S.A.F.E. is another important NAAREF program created to ensure aerial applicators make accurate applications.
NAAREF programs save lives, enhance our industry’s reputation, enable insurance discounts, and help us meet regulatory requirements for certification. Since it first hit the stage in 1998, PAASS—the Professional Aerial Applicators’ Support System—has reduced ag aviation accidents by nearly 26%, the fatal accident rate by 10% and drift complaints by 26%. That’s a phenomenal achievement, and PAASS played a significant role. Without successful NAAREF educational programs, it’s unquestionable that the regulatory requirements facing aerial applicators would be more rigorous.
But it takes industry donations from individual members and organizations to ensure top-quality and effective NAAREF programs. Please donate now to support NAAREF’s programs and cultivate education, safety and technology advancements in the industry.
NAAA’s ‘Agriculture’s Air Force’ Book For Sale at Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum
If you’re planning to visit the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum, home to the National Agricultural Aviation Museum, make sure to stop by the gift shop. Thanks to Executive Director Hayes Patrick, you can now purchase a copy of Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application there.
The National Agricultural Aviation Museum covers more than 5,000 square feet and provides a comprehensive and fascinating look at how the aerial application industry has impacted agriculture. On display are ag aircraft that once flew over Southern farms, complemented by an informative video and a series of colorful photographs and panels. Adding the 100th anniversary book to the gift shop allows another opportunity for museumgoers to learn more about agricultural aviation and how the industry has advanced over the years in sustaining food, fiber, and bioenergy in the U.S.
Order Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application for yourself, your customers, your local library and museums at AgAviation.org/book.
Set Yourself Up for New Year’s Success by Renewing Your NAAA Membership
If you have already renewed your NAAA membership for 2023, thank you! If you have not, please renew your membership today. You can renew online or over the phone at (202) 546-5722. Set yourself up for success in the new year by renewing your NAAA membership for 2023.
NAAA is committed to creating a positive business climate, promoting safety and professionalism, improving the industry’s public image, and influencing policy in a way that is beneficial to the aerial application industry. Our industry’s importance to global food, fiber and bioenergy production comes at a crucial time as NAAA fights to ensure the aerial use of pesticides remains available and abundant while other government and activist interests work to cancel or impose unnecessary and burdensome use restrictions. It takes your membership resources to save these aerial uses and positively represent the industry before the public.
Resources supplied by your membership are what allows for NAAA to succeed on many issues, including the fighting and winning on important issues like exemptions from FAA user fees and federal fuel excise taxes; tower marking requirements; safety requirements for drones flying near manned, low-altitude aircraft; and as stated above, ensuring EPA keeps a healthy inventory of pesticide products for aerial use without unnecessary restrictions.
As the industry enters its second century, NAAA and NAAREF have developed a way to augment industry advancement of safety and application accuracy while showing your customers, regulators, insurers, pesticide manufacturers, and the public the professional nature of the industry. Our new Certified-Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward (C-PAASS) program, launching this year, will fill that very role for those that want to participate. We know education works to reduce accidents and drift occurrences based on PAASS program stats. Since the first PAASS season in 1998-1999, the ag aviation accident rate (number of accidents per 100,000 hours flown) has dropped by nearly 26%, and the fatal accident rate has dropped by 10%.
The impetus for developing C-PAASS was to expand and gain recognition for maximizing professionalism by ultimately receiving additional benefits for being certified, such as insurance discounts and more flexibility pertaining to pesticide label language and for ag pilots to market to their customers that they have undergone additional training and development to best ensure that they can provide high-quality service.
Please make it a priority to renew your NAAA membership—the payoff far exceeds what you will spend in dues in the form of effective advocacy that reduces regulation and taxes affecting your aerial application business, and trade association membership dues are tax deductible.
Some membership benefits include:
- Complimentary one-hour legal consultation on Federal Transportation Laws to Operator and Pilot Members.
- Receive markedly reduced attendee and/or exhibitor fees to attend the Ag Aviation Expo.
- Receive the highly sought-after print and online NAAA Membership Directory, where you can find members and allied services in the industry.
- Stay up to date on the latest issues affecting your profession through Association publications, the NAAA eNewsletter, social media briefings and substantive web content at agaviation.org, as well as our Media Relations Kit.
- NAAA membership plus participation in Ag Aviation Expo sessions, PAASS and Operation S.A.F.E. Fly-ins offer pilots and operators several ways to improve professionalism, earn potential CEUs, and achieve discounts through their insurance providers.
Your membership helps us better represent your interests. Click here to renew.
Update Your Information for 2023 Membership Directory
Have you moved or changed employers since you renewed your NAAA membership? Allied companies, have you reviewed your company description lately? Ensure your listing in the 2023 NAAA Membership Directory is correct by logging into your account. If any information has changed, please let us know right away. You can provide your information by:
- Updating your information at AgAviation.org. Log in using your username and password and update your information under My Profile.
- Emailing your changes to information@agaviation.org.
- Calling the NAAA office at (202) 546-5722.
- Responding to the letter or email that you will receive in a couple of weeks.
- Faxing your changes to (202) 546-5726.
NAAA & NAAREF Board Meetings Feb. 16-18 in Alexandria, VA
The February 2023 NAAA & NAAREF Board and Committee meetings will take place Feb. 16-18 in Alexandria, Virginia. Click here to view a schedule.
All meetings are open to NAAA members. If you are not a board or committee member but are interested in attending, please contact Lindsay Barber for more details.
Hotel Details
Hilton Old Town Alexandria
1767 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
The Hilton Old Town is located directly next to the King Street Metro stop (take either the Blue or Yellow Line), which is the second stop south of Reagan National Airport (DCA). You can view a map of the metro system at www.wmata.com/schedules/maps/upload/2019-System-Map.pdf.
- Rate: $156/night + taxes
- Cutoff Date: Jan. 24, 2023
- Reservations: Click here to book online or call 1-800-HILTONS and refer to NAAA Board Meeting.
- If you have issues, please do not book outside the block. Contact Lindsay Barber with your arrival and departure dates.
Please note: All board books will now be provided electronically. Board and Committee members will receive a link and directions to download the electronic board book approximately one week before the meetings. The board book can be downloaded to your computer or tablet, or you can print your committee items.
NAAA Successful in Seeking Proposal to Transport Limited Quantities of Jet A Without CDL HazMat Endorsement
After a five-year effort, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) granted NAAA’s request to propose a regulation allowing states to exempt commercial drivers from having to get a HazMat endorsement to transport 1,000 gallons or less of jet fuel (aviation-grade kerosene). The next steps to finalize this rule are for the FMCSA to post the proposed rule in the Federal Register allowing for either a 30- or 60-day public comment period, digest the comments, and either finalize or retract the rule pending comments. In conversations with the FMCSA on Jan. 5, a final rule should be issued before year’s end. NAAA will be submitting comments in support of the rule and advocating that membership and others do the same.
Presently, drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL) must obtain a HazMat endorsement to transport jet fuel. The FMCSA waived the HazMat endorsement for the transportation of 1,000 gallons or less of diesel fuel. NAAA, due to the need to augment the pool of available commercial drivers to aid aerial application businesses and due to the extremely similar chemical properties of diesel and jet fuel, petitioned for an amendment to 49 CFR 383.3(i) to have this exemption extended to jet fuel as well.
NAAA’s justification for the waiver from the hazardous materials endorsement stems from difficulties finding potential employees to transport commercial motor vehicles for agricultural aircraft operators due to the drivers leaving for year-round work once they receive their CDL and hazardous materials endorsement from a seasonal aerial application business. Another difficulty is finding Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) locations and scheduling testing times to take the knowledge and skill tests required for a CDL in rural areas, where most aerial application businesses are. The closest DMV could be several hundred miles away. NAAA cited American Trucking Association statistics to the FMCSA that there was a shortage of 80,000 drivers and that the bipartisan infrastructure bill Congress passed in the fall of 2021 takes a step toward allowing 18-year-olds to apply for a CDL, down from the current national age limit of 21—another indication that trucking shortages have significantly affected the agriculture sector.
The path toward the FMCSA granting NAAA’s request to propose a regulation has had its challenges. It had been held up at the Transportation Security Administration. Then it was initially denied, but NAAA persevered and showed that the similarities between jet fuel (aviation-grade kerosene) and diesel, which has the HazMat exemption for transporting limited quantities, were nearly identical. NAAA also provided information to the FMCSA showing that its request for a waiver would not jeopardize safety since aerial application operators with CDLs are driving on rural roads and for shorter distances, mostly less than 20 miles, to go from one satellite strip to another. They also drive when the weather is favorable to make applications, not in foggy, rainy and cold and snowy weather due to aerial applications not typically being made during these times.
NAAA greatly appreciates the work of board member Matt Woolard of Woolard Flying Service Inc. in Arkansas and Katherine Holmstrom, executive director of the Arkansas Agricultural Aviation Association, in seeking this waiver. NAAA will keep members aware of the proposed rule as it moves.
Biden Administration Releases Its Rule Defining ‘Waters of the U.S.’ Under the Clean Water Act
The Biden administration imposed a rule on Dec. 30 expanding the definition of waterways that the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers have authority to regulate, a move that the predecessor Obama and Trump administrations addressed, seeking to clarify a decade-long effort of what the EPA’s powers are under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The Biden-imposed rule comes before a pending Supreme Court case expected to be issued later this year that NAAA and other stakeholders had hoped the administration would take into account before prematurely imposing a rule.
The EPA said its rule strikes a balance it hoped would protect waterways as well as commerce, returning its Waters of the United States regulatory framework to something resembling its state in 2015. That year, the Obama administration significantly and controversially widened the scope of the Clean Water Act to cover even ephemeral streams and ponds; President Trump mitigated the EPA’s water pollution authority with a 2019 rule of his own.
In broadening the federal government’s powers under the CWA once again, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency aimed “to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nation’s waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects people’s health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners.”
The rule has been a flashpoint because advocates for industry and property rights say it is overly costly and impractical when applied to wetlands that can be difficult to define or streams that run only for part of the year. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce suggested that the Biden rule would only add to regulatory uncertainty and unpredictability. Conversely, the environmental activist Natural Resources Defense Council called the Biden rule “sensible, good-government action.” The environmental group criticized the Trump rule but said the Biden rule would bring wetlands and waterways back under the EPA’s regulatory authority, though it would not go as far as Obama’s 2015 rule. The Biden administration said it would redefine EPA oversight as covering “traditional navigable waters,” including interstate waterways and upstream water sources that influence the health and quality of those waterways. The definition is based on legal framework established before 2015, with adjustments based on court rulings and newer science, the EPA said.
The rule goes into effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register, which will be soon.
Register Your Private Airport with the FAA
NAAA fields inquiries every year regarding obstruction incursions to the airspace around members’ private airports. The FAA only gets involved in obstructions to publicly used airports. Private airports generally are not afforded protection by the FAA. You probably have a lot invested in your airport: hangers, developed runways and loading areas. You would not have much value left if the airport became unusable. Having an FAA designation may provide protection from towers, wind and solar energy development and urban sprawl developments that inhibit aviation operations. For example, in some areas when developing wind energy, local zoning authorities have required setbacks from officially recognized airports, private or public.
Local and state zoning and land use statutes may provide protection. However, local zoning authorities often require evidence that a private airport’s existence is a legitimate claim. Registering your airport with the FAA is one way to establish legitimacy. Having your airport registered may also be useful in litigation against an entity that is putting up an obstruction.
To register a new airport or make substantial changes to an existing airport, a form 7480-1 must be filled out and submitted to the associated FAA Regional Office or online submissions at the Obstruction Evaluation/Airport Airspace Evaluation office.
Do you have a privately owned airport that is already registered? If so, protect it by making sure the FAA does not list it as closed indefinitely in its airport database. The FAA is in the process of removing airports if they have not heard from the manager for several years. For example, in one state alone in the upper Midwest, there are 54 private airports (several are known aerial applicator airports) that will be removed from the database if they do not contact the FAA.
The best way to check and update your airport is through the FAA’s Airport Data and Information Portal (ADIP). Once on the site, click on “Public Login.” If you haven’t done so previously, this site requires you to register as a user. To register, click “Register” at the ADIP site. Once registered on this site, click “Update Facility Data,” then look at the box that lists “Airport Status.” It should say “operational”; if not, make the required changes.
Bell 407 Tailboom AD Adopted
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bell Textron Canada Limited Model 407 helicopters. This AD was prompted by an accident. This AD requires inspecting the tailboom attachment structure, as specified in a Transport Canada AD, which is incorporated by reference.
Transport Canada AD CF-2022-68 requires inspecting the torque on the tailboom attachment nuts and, depending on the results, replacing parts with new parts and stabilizing the torque. Transport Canada AD CF-2022-68 also requires a detailed visual inspection of the existing sealant application of the aft fuselage attachment fittings and, depending on the results, removing the sealant, accomplishing a detailed visual inspection of the tailboom attachment structure (fittings, aft frames, aft fuselage bulkhead, aft section of the canted web, tailboom canted bulkhead, and upper and lower tailboom longerons), repair and reapplying sealant.
There are some differences between the Transport Canada AD and this AD. Click here to read the complete AD. The effective date is Jan. 12, 2023. The compliance time to complete the required inspections is within 25 hours time-in-service or 30 days, whichever occurs first.
The FAA considers this AD an interim action. If final action is later identified, the FAA might consider further rulemaking then. Comments may be made by following the directions at the above link.
AD Adopted for GE 601 and H 80 Series Engines Dilution Tube Weld Areas
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain GE Aviation M601D-11, M601E-11, M601E-11A, M601E-11AS, M601E-11S, M601F, H75-100, H75-200, H80, H80-100, H80-200, H85-100 and H85-200 model turboprop engines. This AD was prompted by reports of cracks in dilution tube weld areas of the combustion chamber outer liner. The AD requires initial and repetitive borescope inspections of the dilution tube weld areas of the combustion chamber outer liner and, depending on the results of the inspections, replacement of the combustion chamber outer liner with a part eligible for installation.
This AD was first proposed on Sept. 27, 2022. Action is required at the next 300-hour (Type 3) engine inspection or within 25 flight hours (FHs) after the effective date of this AD, whichever occurs later, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 300 FHs.
The effective date of this AD is Jan. 26, 2023. View the complete AD here.
Top 10 Agricultural Aviation Magazine Articles of 2022
From a profile introducing 2022 NAAA President Jim Perrin to a trio of articles from our special safety issue devoted to health and safety lessons, here are the top 10 digital articles from Agricultural Aviation’s 2022 issues based on the most viewed articles at AgAviationMagazine.org and the Agricultural Aviation Magazine App.
- Pre-Perrin for Ag Aviation’s Second Century – Winter 2022
Jim Perrin of Wisconsin takes the reins as NAAA’s 2022 President - Commit to Being a Better Applicator and More Active Member in 2022 – Winter 2022
Jim Perrin challenges Agricultural Aviation’s readers in his inaugural NAAA President’s Message - 2021—A Centennial, a Disrupted Supply Chain, an Ag Economy Rebound; 2022—A Forecast – Winter 2022
NAAA CEO Andrew Moore looks back at a memorable 2021 and at what lies ahead for the aerial application industry in 2022 - Hitting a Wire is Not OK! – Summer 2022
Aerial applicators urgently need a safety reset after a deadly year for wire strikes in 2021 - Cockpit Therapy – Spring 2022
Almost 12 years after being paralyzed in a helicopter crash, getting back into the cockpit one more time lifted a weight off Rob Hammons’ shoulders - The Perils of Pushing Yourself to the Brink – Spring 2022
Kole Pederson’s days as an ag pilot ended in the blink of an eye, but his love for the profession will never wane - NAAA’s VP is a True Craft’s Man of His Ag Aviation Trade – Winter 2022
A conversation with 2022 NAAA Vice President Craig Craft - Prepare for the Season Expecting Supply Chain Turbulence – Spring 2022
There appears to be widespread agreement that 2022 will be another year of supply chain challenges - Monumental Success! – Winter 2022
Celebrating ag aviation’s centennial made the 2021 Ag Aviation Expo one for the ages - ‘Your Health Is Your Livelihood’ – Spring 2022
A massive stroke cost 2013 NAAA President Dana Ness his livelihood; he urges ag aviators to zealously protect their health
Back issues are available in Agricultural Aviation’s Issue Library.
Get the Free Agricultural Aviation App
If you haven’t installed the free Agricultural Aviation Magazine App on your smartphone or tablet, you are missing out on a great way to tap into a library’s worth of Agricultural Aviation issues in the palm of your hand. Download the Agricultural Aviation Magazine App and see how easy it is to use. The app is compatible with all Apple, Google and Amazon mobile devices and can be downloaded from their respective app stores by searching “Agricultural Aviation Magazine.” Enable push notifications to be alerted when new digital editions are published and to receive occasional notifications about pertinent articles.
Give the Gift of Agricultural Aviation
Want to go a step further? Spread the gospel of the industry to your farmer-customers by giving them a gift subscription to Agricultural Aviation, the official publication of NAAA! NAAA members automatically get a complimentary Agricultural Aviation subscription with their membership, but additional subscriptions may be purchased for employees, customers, suppliers and local schools.
Omnibus Fiscal Year 2023 Spending Bill Includes Ag Research, Disaster Relief and Pesticide Registration Continued Funding
Congressional leaders reached agreement on a massive year-end bill that would provide $3.7 billion in disaster aid for farmers, including $250 million in aid to rice producers and $100 million to cotton merchandisers. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, revenue from rice fell from $3.5 billion in 2021 to $3.2 billion this year when adjusted for inflation. Wheat revenue jumped more than 15% this year, and corn revenue rose by 20%.
The bill also includes a reauthorization measure for the pesticide registration process at the EPA. The disaster funding would cover crop and livestock losses due to drought and other problems this year. The bill specifies that the $3.7 billion in disaster aid is for losses “of revenue, quality or production losses of trees, bushes, and vines, as a consequence of droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze, including a polar vortex, smoke exposure, and excessive moisture.”
Missing from the bill are any farm labor reforms, which would have expanded the H-2A program and provided a path to legal status for domestic workers.
The omnibus also would reauthorize the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA), which imposes fees for the maintenance and registration of active ingredients. PRIA has broad support among industry and environmental groups that are actively involved in implementation of the program, which partially funds the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs. The reauthorized legislation, known as PRIA 5, would boost registration and maintenance fees by 30% and allow the EPA to raise fees by 5% in 2024 and 2026. The reauthorized law also would phase in, over eight years, a requirement that pesticide labels be available in Spanish. The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition in May seeking bilingual labels. In addition, PRIA 5 would require the EPA to perform a workforce assessment of OPP and authorize $7.5 million in farmworker education grants.
Agricultural research funding would be increased by $175 million over fiscal year 2022 to $3.45 billion in FY23, which started Oct. 1. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the USDA’s in-house research arm, would get $1.74 billion, a $111 million increase over FY22. ARS programs include the Aerial Application Technology Research Unit that NAAA has supported for years due to its development of technologies and techniques advancing the application of crop inputs by air.
NAAA and NAAREF Presidents Discuss NAAA, Industry Issues on Ag Aviator Podcast
Jim Perrin and Matt Hovdenes, NAAA and NAAREF’s 2022 presidents, respectively, appeared on the Ag Aviator Podcast to discuss the importance of NAAA and NAAREF, the association’s safety education foundation. The interview with host and NAAA Pilot member Andy Gjerswold was released in October after being recorded at the 2021 Ag Aviation Expo while Perrin was NAAA’s president-elect.
In the episode, Jim and Matt discuss the purpose NAAA and state/regional ag aviation associations serve for ag pilots, operators and the industry as a whole. They also give listeners an insider’s view of the immensely important work industry volunteers engage in at NAAA and NAAREF’s board meetings, the far-ranging issues NAAA tackles on aerial applicators’ behalf, the critical safety education programming NAAREF puts on to improve ag aviation safety and professionalism, and the importance of being a member of NAAA and your state and regional associations.
Listen to the interview in its entirety below!
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.
- Identify Ag Aircraft Operational Trends
- Develop Ag Aircraft Operational Model
- Validate Model through Observation/Collection of Empirical Data
- Inform/Educate UAS Operators
- Promote Safety in all Low-Altitude Ag Environments
Many of you have previously contributed during the first stage of data collection from 2017 to 2020 when NAAA members donated 49,180 flight logs from 20 states. The second stage of the study began in 2021 and seeks to additionally include aircraft make and model info. These details are important, as the airspace modeling will be impacted by aircraft types differently, such as fixed-wing versus helicopter operations.
More GPS flight log data is needed to continue this study. Because of the diverse growing areas and unique geographical challenges experienced by aerial applicators, it is imperative that as many states and regions as possible are represented. This will ultimately help facilitate the safe integration of unmanned aircraft into these different airspaces.
As a reminder, NAAA and Raspet have agreed that all submitted information will remain confidential, and all GPS flight logs will be stripped of any personally identifying information before any research is conducted using the data.
There are several methods available to submit your data:
- Request a secure upload link for larger uploads OR email directly to Madison Dixon, Research Director.
Email: mdixon@raspet.msstate.edu - Mail a flash drive or other storage device to the address below. (The device will be immediately mailed back once data is received if a return address is provided):
Address:
Attn: Madison Dixon
Raspet Flight Research Lab – Bldg. 2
114 Airport Rd.
Starkville, MS 39759
NAAA Releases Book of the Century! Buy It Today
NAAA has released the book of the century—a century of agricultural aviation, that is.
One hundred years ago, an aerial crop dusting experiment spawned the birth of the agricultural aviation industry. To commemorate agricultural aviation’s 100th anniversary, NAAA is pleased to present Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application.
Agriculture’s Air Force provides a new, updated account of aerial application’s history, 35 years after Mabry Anderson’s masterpiece, Low & Slow: An Insider’s History of Agricultural Aviation, was published. NAAA’s meticulously sourced book is based on a collective history of the agricultural aviation industry based on material from Agricultural Aviation magazine, AgAir Update, Low & Slow and other resources.
Beginning with Agricultural Aviation’s Spring 2021 issue, NAAA published excerpts from Agriculture’s Air Force and continued to do so through the Fall 2021 issue. Those stories are just a small slice of what’s in the 268-page hardback edition, however. The complete book contains so much more.
Agriculture’s Air Force delves into the intersection of agriculture and aviation. It chronicles the agricultural aviation industry’s growth from its infancy in 1921 through the boom times after World War II and on to today’s modern era of high-tech aerial application.
The finished hardback book has been years in the making but well worth the effort. “This is a significant piece of work covering not just the industry’s history, but its essence,” NAAA CEO Andrew Moore said. “We are proud of it and believe it will make a lasting contribution to the industry.”
The story of agricultural aviation is much like the broader story of aviation: It is mostly punctuated with interesting smaller moments sandwiched between milestone developments. Aerial application is also the story of technological leaps and bounds.
Agriculture’s Air Force covers five eras spanning more than 10 decades. In addition, it features 34 Spotlight pieces focused on significant individuals, organizations, trends, technologies and topics related to aerial application.
Agriculture’s Air Force: 100 Years of Aerial Application may well be NAAA’s most enduring 100th anniversary initiative. One thing’s for sure: It is no textbook. The commemorative book is written from a fresh perspective that is entertaining and enlightening. Readers will come away with a new appreciation for agricultural aviation as a profession and the dedicated individuals who propel it forward.
Order Your Copy of Agriculture’s Air Force Today!
Agriculture’s Air Force retails for $45, excluding shipping. Order it from AgAir Update’s Online Store.