NAAA Sets the Record Straight After Misleading Opinion Piece Impugns Aerial Application in Iowa Newspaper
An Iowa newspaper published a full-throated response from NAAA CEO Andrew Moore after one of its opinion writers wrote a distorted column that unfairly suggests the costs of aerial application outweigh its benefits to agriculture and society.
What Moore was especially piqued about is that he spoke at length to the writer, Austin Wu, an editorial fellow at The Gazette of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In return, Wu discarded or questioned much of what Moore had to say during the interview and turned to university “agricultural experts” to vet some of the benefits Moore mentioned. Wu’s opinion piece was published under the headline, “Missing the field for crops: discussions on aerial application.” Two weeks later, The Gazette’s editors published Moore’s response under the headline “Ag aviation facts contradict columnist’s narrative.”
Moore wrote that “Wu spun a web of words that deceptively attempts to bait a reader to believe the industry is a culprit of Iowa’s loss of natural lands, global warming and for jeopardizing human health.” NAAA’s CEO ended his published rebuttal with a parting shot:
[Aerial Application] is a form of application that has been vital to crop, forestry and human health protection for over 100 years because of its effectiveness, and because it evolves technologically. Wu was informed about this. Unfortunately he took a deceptive approach—one that harms his profession’s reputation, not that of the professionals who are aerial applicators.Moore’s full response is available here.
Air Tractor Releases New Turn Smart Video on YouTube
Turn Smart: Respect the Safety Margin, Air Tractor’s new safety video, is now available to watch on YouTube. You can also watch it below.
Air Tractor’s new Turn Smart video debuted at the 2022 NAAREF Safety Session. The video features a combination of interviews, stunning animation and flying demonstrations in an effort to educate ag aviators on how to conduct an ag turnaround safely.
Kyle Schroeder, an Air Tractor engineer, introduces the video by providing information on the lethality of stall/spin accidents that result from improperly turning an aircraft. He’s followed by Mike Rhodes, Air Tractor’s former chief test pilot, who introduces Steve Gustafson, an ag pilot from Louisiana and an AeroShell Aerobatic Team pilot.
Gustafson describes what a safe ag turn looks and feels like. The maneuver must be planned, and you should preserve a margin of safety for when the unexpected happens. Gustafson also talks about the dangers of uncoordinated flight and the misuse of rudder while making ag turns. To assist with his description, animation is displayed to help pilots understand what can happen when turns are uncoordinated. Rhodes and Gustafson then discuss the change in an aircraft’s center of gravity as the contents of the hopper are applied and the need to be a smooth and steady pilot.
To emphasize the importance of maintaining a margin of safety, Turn Smart turns to Mike Mullane, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and former NASA space shuttle astronaut, to discuss normalization of deviance. Normalization of deviance occurs when you are operating under pressure to complete a task, which causes you to consider using a shortcut that is less safe than the normal procedure to save time. If you survive, you will be more likely to take the shortcut the next time you’re under pressure. Over time, the deviation from safety becomes your new normal.
Later, Rhodes joins Gustafson in his T-6 for some flying examples of what happens when a turn is done incorrectly, causing a stall spin.
The video closes with some key points:
- Beware of overly aggressive turns.
- Back off 10%. Maintain your safety margin.
- A wing at zero-G cannot stall.
- Stay vigilant for “normalization of deviance.”
- Practice slow flight, stalls and recoveries.
- Coordinated use of flight controls in every turn.
- Pay attention to operating weight and CG shift.
- Turn using no more than 10 degrees of flaps.
- Choose the correct turnaround maneuver for the mission.
Be sure to watch Turn Smart so you can turn smart!
FAA Issues Updated Guidance Making Clear Part 137 Operators Aren’t Subject to OpSpecs Requirements
Per NAAA’s efforts, the FAA has released updated guidance for its inspectors that clarifies an inspector’s duties when an ag operator adds a new aircraft to their operation. NAAA reported on this expected guidance in the summer of 2022.
In section 3-4228, sub-sections A and B of the guidance, which is available here, inspectors are instructed to update and reissue an operator’s LOA A003 using WebOPSS upon request from the operator that an aircraft has been added to their operation.
The use of WebOPSS to complete the A003 form has caused confusion with some FAA inspectors, who have mistakenly concluded that Part 137 operators need to fulfill various other requirements related to 14 CFR Part 119 for operations specifications (OpSpecs). In section 3-4227, the updated guidance makes clear that Part 137 operators are not subject to the requirements of OpSpecs.
Sub-section C clears up another issue some ag operators have had, which is an inspector insisting an aircraft be inspected before it can be added to the operator’s LOA A003. The new guidance clearly states there is no regulatory requirement for an aircraft to be inspected prior to it being listed on LOA A003.
Finally, sub-section D of 3-4228 states that there is no requirement for aircraft ownership interest in Part 137. A Part 137 operator must have use of at least one certificated and airworthy aircraft equipped for agricultural operations. The term “use” includes ownership as well as any other agreement for use of the aircraft.
In summary:
- Notify your FSDO when you add an aircraft to your operation; they must add the aircraft to your LOA A003 and reissue the updated form to you (section 3-4428, sub-sections A and B).
- You are not subject to the requirements of OpSpecs (section 3-4227).
- You do not have to have an aircraft inspected before it’s added to your LOA A003 (section 3-4228, sub-section C).
- You do not need to provide proof of ownership, lease, or any other agreement of use for your Part 137 operation’s aircraft (section 3-4228, sub-section D).
Dean Wilson Elected to National Ag Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame Nominations Board is pleased to announce that Dean Wilson is being inducted into the National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame. Dean W. Wilson, 87, of Clarkston, Washington, has been selected to be the 53rd inductee into the National Ag Aviation Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place at the 2023 NAAA Ag Aviation Expo Dec. 7 in Palm Springs, California.
Dean’s aviation accomplishments are many, as he started his flight training at age 13 and his aviation mechanic training at 17. Dean had 13 years of experience as an agricultural pilot and had converted a couple of UMF Wacos into dusters/ sprayers. After being an ag pilot, Dean started instructing and flying sailplanes. He had plans to design sailplane wings for a Waco, which gave rise to him developing a brand-new agricultural aircraft, the Eagle DW-1 biplane. At the time, Dean was working for Joe Terteling in Boise, Idaho, restoring antique airplanes. Terteling financed the Eagle project.
Dean Wilson (pictured above) developed the Eagle DW-1 biplane, a brand-new agricultural aircraft.
Dean spent four years bringing the Eagle DW-1 from design to production. The Eagle has long wooden wings with microlam spars (engineered wood). Reducing drag on a biplane and obtaining FAA approval for the wings, along with the use of epoxy glue, were some of the unique challenges he faced. The Eagle DW-1 had a production run of 90 aircraft from 1979 through 1983. Many of the aircraft are still in use today, with 30 aircraft currently in the FAA’s registration database. The DW-1 was known to have a very good spray pattern and, combined with more current knowledge of nozzles and aircraft spray equipment, is currently being looked at as an aircraft that can be used in sensitive areas.
Dean has an aircraft designer’s heart as he went on to develop the Avid Flyer, a kit-built aircraft that is still in production. In 1983 he won the EAA Best New Design for the Avid Flyer. He was the 1998 recipient of the Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to the design of light aircraft. Dean was inducted into the EAA’s Homebuilders Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2014, Dean was inducted into the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame.
In the 100-year history of agricultural aviation, only a handful of individuals and companies have brought purpose-built, newly designed agricultural aircraft to market. Dean Wilson is one of these individuals.
The National Agricultural Aviation Hall of Fame is housed in the Jim Buck Ross Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum in Jackson, Mississippi.
AD Issued to Establish Life Limits on Certain Walter/GE Turboprop Engine Compressor Cases and Drums
The FAA has issued a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain GE Aviation Czech s.r.o. M601E-11, M601E-11A, M601E-11AS, M601E-11S and M601F model turboprop engines. This AD was prompted by the exclusion of life limits for certain compressor cases and compressor drums from the airworthiness limitations section of the engine maintenance manual.
The AD requires recalculation of the consumed life for the affected compressor cases and compressor drums and, depending on the results of the recalculation, removal and replacement of the affected compressor case or compressor drum with a part eligible for installation. AD 2022-1414 may be viewed here. The AD requires action within 90 days of the effective date of March 13.
FAA Adopting AD for Series 500 Continental Engines
The FAA is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Continental Aerospace Technologies Inc. (Continental) GTSIO-520, IO-470, IO-520, IO-550, IOF-550, LIO-470, LIO-520, LTSIO-520, O-470, TSIO-470, TSIO-520, TSIO-550, TSIOF-550 and TSIOL-550 model reciprocating engines with a certain Superior Air Parts Inc. (SAP) cylinder assembly or intake valve installed.
This AD affects parts installed on or after Jan. 20, 2022. Action is required within 30 days after the effective date of Feb. 17. The AD is being issued without a normal comment period, but comments are still being taken and the AD may be amended as a result of comments received.
View the complete AD here. To submit a comment, go to the previous link or directly to the comment page here.
Membership Grace Period Ends Wednesday, Feb. 15;
Renew Your Membership Today
Thank you for your support as a 2022 member! If you have not yet
renewed, your membership grace period ends Feb. 15. Do we have your
support for 2023? Renew online or over the phone at (202) 546-5722.
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.
Watch NAAA’s Video to See Why We’re Better Together!
Set Yourself Up for Success; Renew Your Membership
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.
NAAA & NAAREF Board Meetings Kick Off Next Week
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.
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.
California Unveils 2050 Goals for Eliminating Key Pesticides
California plans to ban toxic pesticides by 2050, according to a new report. California Gov. Gavin Newsome’s administration has released a policy framework for eliminating or significantly reducing the use of controversial pesticides by 2050 in California. (Click here to see the framework.)
The report, generated by a stakeholder-led task force, details actions targeting pesticides that pose the greatest threats to the environment or socially disadvantaged communities. Pesticides like fumigants, neonicotinoids and organophosphates fall within the priority parameters. Dubbed a sustainable pest management roadmap, the set of recommendations was nearly two years in the making and involved 25 members in the work group, ranging from academics to farmers, industry groups and pesticide manufacturers—alongside environmental activists and tribal members. The document makes clear that group members sometimes had opposing views on the recommended actions and “at times struggled to reconcile their divergent thinking.” While the members have signed off on the final report, “not every member values any one of the goals or recommended actions equally.”
Along with reducing pesticide use, the report prioritizes the need for state and federal governments to shore up investments in pest prevention, streamlining registrations and evaluations for new products and educating the public on existing safety standards. It also goes beyond rural issues, proposing new standards for urban settings, where nonagricultural uses account for as much as 55% of pesticide sales in California and up to 75% of the reported illnesses.
The report touts a more holistic approach to pesticide management, exploring alternatives to targeted pesticide ingredients before enacting a ban on their use. Soon after taking office in 2019, Gov. Newsom fractured the state’s relationship with the agriculture community by ordering the cancellation of chlorpyrifos before the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) completed an evaluation. Afterward, DPR formed a working group to find alternatives to the insecticide. Among the recommendations, the stakeholders urged the department to expand the alternatives work group to develop a more comprehensive strategy that goes beyond one pesticide and addresses other challenges in research, cooperative extension and funding.
States, Farm Groups, Others File Suit Over Biden Administration’s Far-reaching WOTUS Rule Redefinition
States and 17 farm, construction and mining groups filed suit in federal court last month to overturn the Biden administration’s definition of the upstream reach of water pollution laws. The state of Texas and the American Farm Bureau Federation are two of many entities involved in the suits. The plaintiffs argue that the new Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule finalized by the Biden administration was irresponsibly broad and covered land and waterways that have no connection to the navigable waters under federal jurisdiction.
The lawsuits to overturn the WOTUS rule were filed in federal district court on Jan. 18, the same day the rule was published in the Federal Register. Like the challenges to the Obama definition, the lawsuits criticized the new WOTUS definition as overly broad, covering areas that may not even be with water. NAAA has concerns with expanding the definition of WOTUS because it would expand the conditions whereby applicators may have to obtain NPDES pesticide general permits under the Clean Water Act. These permits are time-consuming, expensive, duplicative and unnecessary for applicators because pesticides are already tested for water safety under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
Congress said in 1972 that clean water law applied to the waters of the United States and left it to federal agencies to define them. The new WOTUS rule covers more waterways and wetlands than the narrower definition written during the Trump era, which was overturned by a federal court in 2021. An earlier WOTUS definition by the Obama administration was tied up in court and never took effect.
Litigation over the Biden administration’s WOTUS rule will launch as the Supreme Court is preparing to rule in a case—Sackett v. EPA—an Idaho case that has the potential to limit the reach of the Clean Water Act by limiting federal protection of wetlands to land with a surface connection to a waterway. In 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that wetlands with a “significant nexus” to navigable waters were covered by the water pollution law. Courts have generally followed that rule since then.
Additional challenges to the WOTUS rule are expected to land in multiple federal district courts across the country.
NAAA and Virginia Ag Interests’ Advocacy Results in State Delegate Withdrawing One-Week Pesticide Notification Bill
The Virginia state delegate that proposed a bill in Virginia’s General Assembly 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 has withdrawn the bill from consideration. Advocacy by NAAA, the Virginia Farm Bureau and other ag interests was able to convince the delegate to withdraw the legislation, which NAAA originally reported last month.
NAAA first 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 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. 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. The fact sheet is available here.
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.
NAAA Comments on EPA’s Endangerment Finding on Avgas, Urges Alternative Fuel First
NAAA submitted its comments on the EPA’s endangerment finding on leaded aviation fuel and is asking the agency not to ban tetraethyl lead prematurely. The EPA formally proposed the endangerment finding in early October, a couple of weeks after the FAA approved an STC for General Aviation Modifications Inc.’s unleaded alternative, G100UL, which works for all piston and reciprocating engines used in ag aircraft. With that said, the alternative fuel isn’t expected to be readily available until the end of 2030.
NAAA’s comments to the EPA reiterated the importance of aerial application’s role in helping to produce approximately one-third of the nation’s cropland and stated that “According to the 2020 FAA general aviation survey 15 percent of the aerial application fleet still depends on leaded aviation fuel. … Removal of leaded aviation fuel from the market before an alternative is readily available would cause a reduction in the ability to provide agriculture … with the most efficient application method and thus production.” NAAA concluded its comments to the agency by urging the EPA “to work with the FAA and industry to ensure the nationwide availability of a suitable fuel before removing leaded aviation fuel from use.” To read NAAA’s comments, click here.
Winter 2023 Issue of Agricultural Aviation Now Online!
The Winter 2023 issue ofAgricultural Aviation is now available online and in the Agricultural Aviation Magazine App. The cover story profiles 2023 NAAA President Craig Craft. Additional features include a review of ag aviation accidents in 2022, a piece on 2023 being Agricultural Aviation’s 50th year in print, tributes to the 2022 NAAA Award recipients, highlights from the 2022 Ag Aviation Expo and much more!
Featured content in the Winter 2023 issue includes:
- Crafting the Right Leader for NAAA
- 2023 NAAA Officer Spotlights
- Wire Strikes Remain Leading Cause of Ag Aviation Accidents in 2022
- Aerial Application Research Takes the Stage
- Nine Who Shined! Celebrating NAAA’s 2022 Award Recipients
- Agricultural Aviation Turns 50!
- Raise the Bar on Ag Aviation Maintenance
- CEO’s
Message: Summarizing an Inflated 2022; Forecasting 2023’s Weather
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.
General Aviation News Sheds Light on 5 Things Most People Don’t Know About ‘Crop Dusters’
In January, General Aviation News published “Five things you don’t know about crop dusters” based on reporter William E. Dubois’ visit to the 2022 Ag Aviation Expo to not just learn more about the industry but truly understand it. Dubois’ story gets to the heart of the importance and technological nature of the aerial application industry.
Aspects the article sheds light on include:
- Why the term “crop duster” is less fashionable within the industry than aerial applicators or ag pilots.
- The high cost of today’s state-of-the-art ag planes, such as Air Tractor’s AT-502B and Thrush Aircraft’s new 510-P2 displayed at the 2022 NAAA Trade Show.
- The continuing education requirements ag pilots must fulfill to renew their state commercial applicator licenses.
- The on-the-ground training typically required before new ag pilots can earn their first “seat.”
- How ag pilots protect the world’s food supply by seeding, fertilizing and treating crops with products to protect crops from “30,000 species of weeds, 3,000 species of nematodes (worms), and a whopping 10,000 species of plant-eating insects” they have to “compete” with.
The full article is available here.
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.
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.