SOME OF THE BEST PILOTS IN THE WORLD ARE CROP DUSTER PILOTS

I've been flying light aircraft in the bush for thirty years, and I STILL think you guys are bonkers. Definitely a breed apart. Respect.

Hard work? That’s an understatement! 14 hours a day? I would be so mentally drained after a couple hours! You guys have to be sharp as a tack 99% of the time. Amazing!!

We live in Michigan in farm country & watch the air tractors do their thing. Thanks for showing us what it's like in the plane!

Totally blown away by your videos!! Thanks so much for explaining everything while your flying but hopefully not to the point where your distracted from your job at hand. You guys please be careful. And keep those videos coming!!!

Pretty cool insight to what you guys do. I didn't realize how many "close calls" you guys have. You guys have some serious skill!

Down around St Matthews SC, they use very small biplanes, if you're driving on 601 they have to lift to clear your car. They pull up and kick full rudder in a quick little hammerhead and right back onto the spray run. It's great to watch, these guys are flying 5 feet over the beans.

I just came across your channel. Close friend of mine passed away crop dusting several years ago. A very top static wire hit the windshield first, went up and over scraping the fuselage and cut the rudder in half also tearing most of it off. Plane then pancaked into the cornfield killing him instantly. To this day we often wonder how and why he hit it. NTSB just said he didn't see it. Pilot error. However, he did that same field last year and had already made a pass over the wires once already. This happened on his second pass. I guess we will never really know the exact cause or what circumstances added up all together to cause the crash.. Nice channel and keep being safe out there!

It's clear that you have a lot of expertise in this area, and it's interesting to learn about the considerations and decisions you make while flying and spraying crops.

interesting career choice,good video.i used to watch planes spray cotton in alabama years ago.

Because of what you said at the first of the video about that model (and size) of plane, L-3 Aeromet Inc. has a contract signed to convert 30+ of these models into USAF light attack planes at its shop in Tulsa, OK. 7,000 pounds is a lot of Hellfires, rockets, or cannon ammo! Cool vids!

Wow! My heart is thumping in my chest watching this! You are the pilot's pilot!

Thanks for what you do. From an old private pilot. God bless. 👴🏻

I’m really enjoying these videos with the added commentary. Adding commentary to a job like this definitely takes a laser focused professional, and that professionalism definitely shows without a doubt. I work in the aviation industry as well, and have always been interested in crop duster‘s and how they work. Would it be possible for you to make a video explaining all of the various gauges and switches used for the AG application? #cropduster #airtractor802 #flying #powerlines #agriculture

Situational awareness at its peak! Great job…

I enjoyed my years in the 802. At 65 years old, after 45 years ag time I just started to run out of stamina and decided to quit while I was ahead. Sure did like the few thousand hours I flew the 802. Not as much fun as a 450 Super B Cat, but great airplane. No comparison in production of course. Geez, as I watch this video it’s like being back at work. Your flying and insights are very similar to mine, so entertaining to watch (except I was always more comfortable in a left racetrack). The only real difference I can see is that I always used 1/3 flaps on takeoff (3500 ft elevation) rather than 2/3. Same thing applies to wires - every wire strike I had was because I was distracted and forgot about it. Never had a laser altimeter, but the early spraying years we always had wheels in the crop so had that ‘feel’.

Our farmers help feed the world. Your job is just as important. Thanks for helping them out.

Nice work. The 802 is a beast which requires lots of attention, not a good beginner ag plane. I’ve never worked one on farm crops but I’ve flown a few SEAT’s. The cockpit feels like an L1011 cockpit, like a barn. I used to stuff AgCats under wires in Ca. They’re pretty tall at the top of the vertical fin, but AgCats don’t cross the field at 170😮 It’s great that average folks can watch your video and see what a real Cropduster does for a living, compared to the horrible Hollywood cartoon character. I’ve done many 15 hr days during rice season, and forget lunch, no time for that. Lucky if you get a Gatorade..”no joke” 😅

That was some impressive flying sir. You Ag pilots are the real deal. I take my hat off to you guys.

These are really cool and the commentary is interesting. Thanks for taking the time to bring us along with you.

I used to watch Hamilton Crop Dusters in Chowchilla, California fly his biplane under power lines. Your flying and situational awareness are top notch. Excellent videos.

Love your videos! The narration is great! After I got my license in 1969, I wanted to be a spray pilot. So I would rent a Super Cub and go out (unknown to others) and find an open field and "practice". I remember black birds flying up in front of me. You have a great job, but I'm sure you know that.

Very cool stuff! 14 hours in it must be very tiring. My butt gets soar with 3 hours in my RV7. But this is really neat and I like the fast pace. Must get a lot of work done in a short time compared to the old fashioned method of putting it on with a tractor and spreader like we did when I was growing up. Keep on flying and stay safe.

Howdy Patrick! These videos are so cool! Really enjoying them. Thanks for sharing 🤠

I’m 61 and you are living the dream I’ve wanted since i was a young boy living in south Louisiana with sugar cane fields all around me miles and miles of it. Air Farm was just about 3 miles from us they would fly 600 or 650 radial engine At Cats loved the sound and the airplane itself, I used to ride my bike to where they were flying and i was loving it would even get dusted occasionally by the chemicals 2-4D and mythalparathyon omg and I’m still alive today 😁. Keep on flying that tractor, I have FSX And got the Air Tractor 802 on it with the crop duster app also my daughter downloaded a Ag Cat with the radial engine which is nice 👍🏼 thanks for the video!!! Hey nice flying and landing!!!

Thanks for the ride enjoyed it!!

Stay safe brother and keeping you in my prayers, Also, thank you for what you do!

Great video bud!!! Enjoyed it .. and much appreciated by an old timer. Now near 85, with a av life of mostly ag work ... starting in the late sixties .. and continuing ... till retired in '85. Equipment today ... is vastly changed from our Pratt 1340s and smaller ... Bull Stearmans ... 22-2400 (absolute max) loads. Sooo many war stories ... And a life that I'd give all my remaining time to sit just one more season. Those here who 'envy' the life ... are so right in your feelings. It IS a spectacular life ... but at times, at least in the old days, it is a incredibly hard, and at times, extremely challenging life. Best to all you great, lucky drivers still out there. Envy just don't get it ... but I can still dream. Fourth word I ever said in life (according to my mother's words in my baby book!) ... was "airplane" !!!! And that was my life. Best, and keep the flame going guys .... appreciate you so much. All the flight commentary, really brings it all back ... we were in the same world ... just slightly different lingo. So much more tech stuff. But filled with the same thinking, cautions, and goals ... largely aimed at staying alive. (Tried listening to radio ... once ... never again ... too distracting ... hugely!! LOL) Godspeed man !!!!

Hey Patrick! I’m a flight instructor based out of Texas working my way into ag aviation. These videos are awesome. So much to learn, but these videos you put out offer amazing insight when it comes to ADM inside the cockpit.

Fascinating to join you in this perspective. Thanks for sharing

Your new setup with audio is nice. I look forward to your future videos.

Epic flying mate. Such a pleasure to watch. Simply superb! Thanks for sharing. :)

I’m a pilot but, man, you are at a different level. I found your channel just few days ago and I’m amazed. Thanks for sharing!😮

LOVE IT!! Keep the commentary coming!!

I started my flight training last week and stumbled onto your videos today and i just gotta say watching this is cool asf. Please keep uploading and if at all possible can you do a video on the aircraft itself?

I could watch these videos all day. Thank you!

Thanks for reporting how this profession works. I have a lot of curiosity even though it's none of my business. I take it that understanding a turbine engine is at least a bit different from dealing with a piston, which most viewers know from driving cars.

On a recent cross country over Indiana, and Ohio I was mesmerised watching the ag planes 3000 feet below me spraying fields and doing acrobatics...

Keep them coming, these videos are exactly what I love tk see,good stick and rudder work!!

Nice work. I could not fly and watch for all the hazards, well I could not fly under a power line period.....We have fields all around us and they do get dusted every year. I have a picture of one plane coming off the tops of the corn from 100 yards away with wind blowing at my back. I see people stop in the road right where they spray.....and wonder how much they got dusted......We keep indoors when they spray. Stay safe out there.

Ag hero’s for the farming community 😊I love watching in the Clarksdale,Ms area spraying cotton.😊

Really glad I stumbled upon your channel. Well done! Instructive and inspiring. I'm a CPL SE/ME Land Instrument - always was curious about ag flying. Thank you for what you're doing! Looks exciting!

This is just great. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge!

Really enjoy your videos! Thanks for putting these up!

Thanks Patrick. This video is excellent just like the last. Learn new stuff every time. I will have to model a phone now and simulate a random call from my wife .LOL.

Awesome videos mate! learn so much from these videos

The first time I saw a cropduster go under a wire I think my heart stopped. I was driving, and saw the airplane heading for the wire and the pilot just didn’t pull up. I was absolutely certain that I was going to see a man die, but he just squirted under and did a big wing over and went back to do it again. What a job!

My instructor back in '79 said. "do not fly crop dusters" just too darn dangerous....... SEEMS like I might have missed some fun flying all these years, ... yeh I know it's work ..... would love to ride back seat just for the experience , BUT not under those lines (lol).

Commentary is spectacular!

Excellent clip. I like the camera angle, easy to see everything.

Your commentary is great with your flying, great video.

Good flying !!

I watched an Air Tractor doing it's work many years ago when I was younger. I thought the pilots were either crazy or very talented. As it turns out, it's a bit of both :)

I have been a passenger inserted by nap of the earth flights many times. You sir, can fly and I would ride with you anytime 🫡 😎👍🏼

We used to say that if farmer Joe can drive a harvester under the wire, then we are good to go... But the heat can change that. In the 502, If I had any doubts, I would pull 200 of the torque before the mid span just to keep the tail down a little bit more. It was even more fun at night. It's funny how you would still duck your head as you went under... Flaps were awesome for turns...

Absolutely awesome to watch, thanks for sharing mate. Cheers from Australia 😊❤🤟🏻👊🏻💪🏻👍🤘

Just watched the video, that sure looks a lot like the airport at Marston Mo. Really awesome video, keep em coming.

Military fighter pilots' enemies are foreign, whereas crop dusting pilots' enemies are domestic. Both sets of pilots are phenomenal pilots IMHO. I'm a novice compared to this guy.

New subscriber here sir. Love the content! Would love a walk around tour of the airplane and filling area!

Just started watching your videos a day ago..already hooked. Amazing skills, amazing plane. Enjoy the commentary as much as the visuals. Keep up the interesting educational and entertaining videos...thanks for sharing as they say... Oh..if you get a chance..listen to the book Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck...you'll enjoy it and especially his encounter with crop dusters on his voyage west.

Very impressive. Loved the ride along. First time seeing it in a video. The powerlines look almost invisible. The trees are at least mostly easy to spot. Those single poles in the middle of a field would have me losing sleep. Every now and again you spot a single pole in the middle of a field and wonder, what the hell is that for.

"Don't hit those. National treasure." Lol. When I was learning tailwheel my instructor told me "you can't out dive a bird." I filed that one back .

Amazing situational awareness.

This is so cool and those air tractor planes are really cute looking 😊

Awesome!!

That sure looks an awful lot like the Marston airport!

Man you guys must have nervous like Samson in the Bible. Everything is so fast. Keep it safe buddy. May God protect you as Ps 91 says. God bless.

Those low-tension power lines would give me nightmares.

I was trying to figure out where you are, got to be NE Arkansas or SE Missouri. I checked fight aware and there’s a bunch of ag-planes in the air today. I’m in NE Louisiana, we don’t have near as many as we used too. 👍🏼

Love it dude!

Thanks for the video. Didn't know that information about power lines sagging.

I dont think you have done it, but give us a tour of the plane when youre on the ground. Its fascinating stuff for us mortals.

This is amazing. You could be a fighter pilot.

great stuff- very professional

Brings back memories

I love watching these, I keep hoping for more. I have a silly question, I notice that your altimeter gauge on the right dips below 0 when you dive down. Is that because wherever you are diving is lower in altitude than where you took off?

This is badass.

Awsome.

I would love to have trained as a pilot, cost initially prevented me and I never devoted funds to it afterwards. However, I could not think of a more exciting satisfying flying than crop dusting / air spray. Stick, rudder, throttle, Mk 1 eyeball, pure flying.

thanks for inspiring me to be a pilot man it's been my dream ever since I was young

Wow…. This was about the fastest thirty minutes I’ve spent in a long time. That was exciting. I’m wondering what the training pipeline is for this type of flying….. might be good as part of a future vid unless you have already made one regarding your flying career and training etc. Tons of skill and confidence there young man.

Patrick I really enjoy watching your videos. I've always wanted to fly from a young boy. But as I grew older my health was a problem. So I just enjoy your comments as you do your job. Do you an Lance ever come to central Indiana to spray? We live close to the Marion airport. I've seen a couple of air tractors flying outa there. If your ever up here I'd like to meet you sometime. Please stay safe God Bless 🙏🙏

just a tid bit of information about those top wires on a transmission line you speak of. Those are called the static lines and allot of times they are OPGW lines which is optical power ground wire. Not everyone but allot of them are OPGW which is a fiber optic for substation-to-substation communications for relay control. I splice OPGW on transmission lines year-round. awesome flying man you got a new subscriber.

I really lovet it!!! and the way to make turns arround to back and spray!!!! I can barely control my cessna 150 haaaaa

dag gum that looks fun

My 1995 F250 has GVWR of 6600lbs. Ky 33x12.5’s rims and tires weigh about 400 lbs. It’s crazy to think that plane can carry the weight of a F250

Love your video's man, have been interested in flying fires for a while and ag is a great way to train for it so I love watching/hearing the commentary. I like the authentic sound of the radio mic but was going to mention Adobe has a program called Adobe Podcast that will silence any background noise amazingly well. I think mentioned in one of your videos you'd been interested in flying fires, are you still working towards that or if you'd reconsidered I'd be curious why?

Great video!!!

excellent video very educative

I miss seeing and hearing these in N Texas

Wow! Thanks for posting this! Please keep ‘em coming. N822CH

My dad did this in the 70s😊

Would be cool to put cameras on wingtips and or tail to get an outside view too.

Your comment about bouncing in when the video is on got me laughing. I flew a Saab 340 for a while; then landing gear on them was so stiff, you knew you botched the landing when it was a greaser.

I have air tractor envy. 😅

Hey Patrick I’m in flight school right now and am considering career paths and i find crop dusting absolutely fascinating. I’ve grew up in farm country and always thought crop dusters were the coolest thing. What is the path one usually takes to become one?

do ya ever spray over by dyersburg TN :) ive seen a few air tractors doing fields and got intrested in learning about what its like doing arial application even in your videos its a thing of wonder seeing how well u handle the plane.

Glad you know where you are at cause I'm lost... Has the big ground sprayers had a much of an impact on your business? I know most everybody has them now. I have a neighbor who learned to fly in a Pawnee by his father then worked as a pilot for Delta until age retired him. Thanks for the ride and fly safe.

Great stuff to watch! Big time respect! How do you deal with potential bird strikes?

Does spraying crop make you a decent living? What is the pay range for what you do. Just curious.