Demand For Ag Pilots (a.k.a. "Crop Dusters") At All-Time High
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2014
- It looks like an exciting, edge-of-your-seat kind of job. But being an agricultural pilot is a highly technical, very important and potentially lucrative career. It's also a career field with high demand, as many in the industry are nearing retirement. One of the premiere ag flight schools is located in Southwest Georgia, and the Monitor's Ray D'Alessio recently paid a visit.
Great video. Got to ride along in an ag helicopter when I was a kid, THAT was a wild ride, very skilled pilot.
It looks like an exciting, edge-of-your-seat kind of job. But being an agricultural pilot is a highly technical, very important and potentially lucrative career. It's also a career field with high demand, as many in the industry are nearing retirement. One of the premiere ag flight schools is located in Southwest Georgia, and the Monitor's Ray D'Alessio recently paid a visit.
Georgia Farm Monitor Every flight schools will say that same old reef. :) You are doing marketing right now and I could understand but please don't say to all the kids that they will fly everyday's and they will be pay like a 2000 hrs pilot. You will break them when they'll face the truth and i can't imagine that you never realised that with the time, anyway.
Glad to meet Mr. Billy Howell and Mr. Lawrence! Did my ag training here!
I am not getting any higher than pulling corn or any lower than digging potatoes. I love to watch these guys work. It has to be a great feeling.
Good to see Ag Flight is still going. Ol Billy has not changed a bit, lol.
This school , it's owner, it's aircraft and it's curriculum & instructors are the very best in the world. I can't believe I'm retired already. It has been a great career. Thank you........
Robert Pabst Same here ~~~~Thank you for your service Sir.But I learned on the farm.
I made it too Robert.
I assume you mean survived when you say you made it? I am seriously considering becoming an Ag pilot but i really need some advice from some experienced Ag pilots such as yourselves.
Try starting off in an Ag Cat. Slow(so you can get to speed) Safe (so you can hug your kids at the end of the season) and very forgiving.(one wing stalls before the other)
Ag pilots feed the world. Respect. Admiration for all that still do. I did.
some chemicals allowed in USA are illegal in other countries. But most others are needed. Insects and pest never rest. Without spray planes, your food will likely be 50 per cent more cost. Do the numbers. The american middle class will be small. Most will be poor. Like it is where food is expensive.
CFITOMAHAWK2 Ever Heard of Organic Spray? Or nan Chemical?
@@bluemarshall6180 What organic spray are they using ?
Awesome picture.
Great video, wish there were a similar school in Oklahoma.
There is or was look in claremore OK
I noticed you used some of my footage and I sure don't remember getting a courtesy email or anything like that. I would like everyone to know that I absolutely did NOT go to Ag Flight in Bainbridge, Ga. Everyone I know that attended Ag Flight told me to go somewhere else. I went to Eagle Vistas in Florida and it was excellent. Thanks.
Patrick Cohen Woooo thank you Patrick for what you do. pawpaw learned on the farm but I agree Eagle Vistas is great but this Ol Buddy is good also.
Patrick Cohen I hope My thank you will help you not to be up set. Negativity is not good for the mind. Thanks again.
I wanted to do this, but it's going to be mostly unmanned aerial application within the next ten years. Not a good long-term career choice.
Was there at that school 27 years ago, pilots were locked out of kitchen had no way to town couldn’t get there loans transferred and the safety record back them was bad, left there in two day went to another place to learn and went into real world and that Ag company is who really trained me.. pawpaw you say negativity bad for the mind well poor research and not getting right information bad for the body when you auger in.
@@lowslow3612 What makes you think that? I'm a pilot and am considering Ag. I also work unmanned tech. Honestly, I don't foresee that anytime soon, considering chemicals, BVLOS, aircraft size and power source....nah, no time soon. I'd reconsider....
He has a TPC Sawgerass shirt on! Coool! I worked a tournament there!
amazing !!!!!
I always wanted to do this, but my parents didn’t allow me. I’m getting too old and had a total different career behind me, but crop dusting always exited me.
What is the schedule and how long is the season plz reply?
pawpaw dun got to old to play but will tell you you can't find a drug that will give you the high that this career will. but go organic at every chance.
Why didnt i find this years ago!!!
If training were cheaper, I would be happy to become one. However, training is expensive and this is the king of job that in 20-30 years will be replaced by drones, so not sure if is a good idea to invest in that training.
I am Brazilian, I am very interested in flying there in the USA. How is the current market. Good flights always!
Wish I had see. This 30 or so years ago. Now I'm like all of the ones that got old and no longer fly.
What about mechanics?
Throwin' errands
If i had the funds i wouldnt think twice about doing it. But unfortunately no funds no dream.
Is it polish dromader? :)
How do I sign up
Hmm..should I, or shouldn't I?
@Ag Aviation Adventures Hello
I am an agricultural pilot on a Cessna 188 and have about 1000 hours experience خبرة
Do you have any jobs?
The second question
Do you have a course for converting to turbocharged engines such as the Air Tractor 502
I am from Libya
Thank you so much
Back in the day we learned on the farm or in the Military. This youngens Should be proud to have a SCHOOL to go to.
The younguns aren't paying up front for on the job training, when they can get a much safer job somewhere else without having to shell out $50K in training before they even they even get their first paycheck.
More like 75k in training...
is it worth it? be honest please, im thinking about becoming a pilot... just expensive to get into
Doggone right Paw Paw!
Seems to forget that the Military is also a training institution and therefore also a school
I really wanted to go to this school, too bad my loan fell through. I was told by Billy that I could leave school and make 75k right away. I called around 20 AG Application companies and not one of them said this was true. Most said you were going to fill planes the first year and they would train you. Very nice guy but I'm not sure if he was just selling seats. I went through the same thing with a helicopter school. Found out that with 250 hrs just about no one will hire you. Most of the old ag guys said I would lose them money the first year out until I became proficient.
I was told the same thing. Im still considering this school and am on the verge of actually committing to it. Just have my doubts.
GulfHunter. What did you decide upon?
That’s probably true unless you were farm raised or your daddy was a cropduster then all you need is a limited commercial an 100 hours tailwheel time and a sign off for ag flight part 137 and then god help getting past the insurance companies because most all states require drift insurance on the airplane and l think only loyds of London will do that and you must meet their requirements so your at the world governments mercy there.
What dose it cost to train
Hello anyone who might end up reading this. So I'm 16 and have just started soloing, and was wondering about how long would it take to go from now to dusting crops and making a living? Thank you!
if you get your commercial you can start technically then but some most operators want you to at least work one year, maybe more, loading chemical and earn a seat flying. that's not every operator but a lot of them are like that. I went to ag flight and maybe 60% of the graduates I went with flew their first year. I was one of the 40% who didn't but I don't regret it at all. spraying is a great way to make a living and you'd be hard pressed to find a more fun career
Agreed. I definitely believe being a loader first (or at least having some good experience with it), makes you a better ag pilot.
just became ag pilot. i need to get hired :) . such a great job.
i've been working from April 2018 now . I-m so happy as an ag pilot
@@albertguti23 What is your schedule like? Who else do you work with?
If you don't mind as well, it's another year later. How has Ag treated you? Still in it?
i dont want to fly no more airlines bro i want to fly ag now
Crop dusting pilots are one of the few elite profetionals in the world. The plane they flew are also one of man kinds brightest invention. If you didn't understood what I mean already, then you should not try to understand it.
Who is this guy and where is school and how much does he charge? Basically its a boring job flying a tractor every day with high risk and chemicals and doing your own maintenance on a big engine, but I might be interested. I'm restoring a vintage airplane in my living room and plan to fly it low and slow all the time over fields just for shits and giggles. Cropdusting would be stepping up my game, but with all the inherent risks. Reasons I wouldn't do it would be once you start doing something as a job, you take all the passion and love out of it any more, and then what you love becomes a daily grind. Not much I love to do anymore, so killing off one of those things just for employment would be a big sacrifice. It may be better to do something you hate for a living, and do what you love for relaxation...
CHOPPERGIRL's AIRWAR this is Billy Howell
My father became a crop duster in 1970. From that moment, he ate, slept, and breathed planes- no matter if he was spraying, or flying us to the beach for vacation. If weather grounded him, he'd go sit at the airport. If it was off season, he'd go hook up with other pilot friends, and find another way to keep flying. I assure you that his passion for flying increased, not decreased. Doctors grounded him in November 2009, for good. He had 27,000 hours. It devastated him.
I've never met a man to date who is as passionate about anything, as my daddy was about flying.
He seems like a guy I would love to work for. Except for I don´t really understand him.
y'all come back now, ya'hear?
👍🏼😂
Probably all gone...
I fly! ;)
تذكرنا بطفولتنا ياليت أراها مره اخرى 😥😥😥
I'm in Vienna Ga. Sign me up now!
And if these companies don’t find a way to co-exist with bees you’ll need to find a way to pollinate the very plants your trying to control.
but our government says these poisons are safe....
10 feet off the ground ?? try 2 feet like we do
Ahman Ahm Lol!!!
Oh my lord. It's time to find some Ag Cat time.
Where is this school located? Very interested
It's located in Southwest Georgia (Bainbridge) Here is a link to their website www.agflight.com/
Didn't know there was such a High demand for pilot's
From Commercial to Ag. The entire industry is starving, still. 5 years later, if not more so. Encourage anyone who expresses interest to get to an airport and take a intro flight. Some airlines will pick you up 0 time to fresh CFI they're so desperate.
If i were 40 years younger i would be there, some how
Harrier or A10 pilots would be perfect for this
David Linihan no tailwheel time!
I went to Ag Flight in 2015. For the most part hes right about getting a job right away...if you know someone that can give you a seat. If you're a nobody with zero ties to anything ag. related you'll struggle to find your first seat. It took me a year to get my first seat, and it took me an another year to make anywhere near the money Billy mentioned in the video. Not to mention I was already a 1000 hr. tailwheel pilot going in. Yes the opportunity is there but its not as easy as Billy makes it sound. As for Ag Flight in Bainbridge Ga. ... I should have done a little more research and gone somewhere else. Instructors are cool tho.
Im there
That accent is killing me 😄😄
That shortage came 20-30 years too late.
The entire industry is starving for pilots right now. Now more than ever is it time to get into aviation.
Keys879
Not with all the airline layoffs I think. There won’t be a shortage soon. Everything with change in the coming years.
unmanned UAV's have already started replacing actual crop dusting pilots. not sure if I would start this career unless the demand would still be there.
+Nick1814--WTF? I was replaced by a drone? Pass the rum bottle..again..Bacardi..
Drones don't have the capacity to carry the weight of the load and fuel. There will always be a demand as long as there are forest fires.
someone’s still gotta fly that drone
Pawpaw can spot an easy mark.
DJI Agras T50
Looks like Billy died about a year ago.
If I was young again ..........
not to late just pass the physical ( NO age limit just pass the physical )
id do it for free!! i have i CPL/IR and could take AG training, but i'm from europe and was told to forget about getting a work permit :( this and fire bombing are my two dream jobs!!!
You wouldn't want to, the hours are brutal and it's grueling work.
Man I think I can do this! =)
If you don't know how a skidding turn in one lazy moment can kill your ass faster than a sneeze, then no, you don't.
I know about the infamous skidding turn and the base/final turn accidents. Maybe you were trying to be a dick on someone else's comment?
No snowfkakes need apply.
Unfortunately drones will make this style of flying extinct soon.. was interested at one time but now im flying charter and glad i chose that route
Don't bet the farm there either.
Interesting. Someone still has to fly the drone though, for now at least. Just a matter of time before you mark it on a map diagram and the drone goes to work without anyone controlling it.
f3nd13y It will be a long time before drones take this over. Between all the trees and power lines I don’t think a drone could do this type of work and if it could it would be so expensive you probably couldn’t afford it. I mean looks at the planes they fly now they are already over a million at least!
delusional. You don't have a clue about the capacity of liquids and solids needed to treat a single 100 acre plot.
Battlefind it’s already happening... the delusion is acting like it doesn’t already exist
Mass starvation? You know the rest of the world is heading organic.
Hans
No way I’d risk cancer being around those pesticides
Are all of you people paranoid or just stupid? The man just got finished telling you that most ag pilots have 30-40 YEARS in the business and are all retiring around the same time. We're not talking two or three men, we're talking at least a thousand.
So, either your cancer theory is shit. Or else these guys are all riddled with cancer but live to ripe old ages in spite of it- which makes them as badass in health, as they are in the air. :)
1 word...drone
Drone, drone, drone ...
sandspar Ain't gonna happen.
It'll happen but just like driverless cars, it's going to be a few years before people trust pilotless airplanes flying low and slow over populated areas carrying toxic substances. Besides, somebody with some ag flying experience will have to maintain and operate those drones and it won't be the old guy in the video.
This is a shameless commercial.
drones can do this, and in the first instance, this should not be done in any case.