You've Got To Get Down, If You Really Want To Do It Right!!

[smoke665]

Made it up to the farm for a few days, as I was driving down the road something caught my eye. I apologize for the clarity as everything was working against me, 135 mm was all I had, the mid day sun was bright, a haze was on the field, and I couldn't get close enough. Still watching the pilot brought back memories from another time, when as a boy a family friend dared me into riding in the hopper of his bi wing Gruman Agcat, so I could experience first hand what it was like to be an ag pilot. All I can say is it's the closest I've every had to having a rocket strapped to my butt, and I was super glad to be tied in, as he put the plane through it's paces. He believed that landing gear should have an assortment of foliage on the landing gear or you weren't low enough. This guy must have gotten the same training.

Coming in a little high to clear the irrigation rigging:
May 201805102018_937.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr

Getting down there:
May 201805102018_926.jpg by William Raber, on Flickr

 

[zulu42]

Very cool.

Man, what a neat story. In the hopper of an agcat, wow! Not the safest place for a kid lol.

 

[smoke665]

Man, what a neat story. In the hopper of an agcat, wow! Not the safest place for a kid lol.

You ever tried to put a cat in a toilet???? That was me in the hopper, you couldn't have pulled me out even without a safety harness.

 

[tirediron]

That's gotta take some set of spheres to fly like that!

 

[smoke665]

@tirediron I once read that the life expectancy of an active Ag Pilot was 7 years if they were flying down chemical, and 60 if they quit. It's been banned now but one particularly nasty insecticide we used in years past was Parathion a non tageted fast disspating spray that killed anything in the field including humans. The only way to apply it was by plane. The friend I mentioned earlier died after a mishap with a power line, not from the crash, but from the exposure to Parathion when the crash caused the tank to rupture. Even after they quit, the chemical exposure eventually gets them. My father died at 62 from cancer related to unprotected exposure to ag chemicals. Things are a lot different today regarding safety, but the risk is still great.

 

[zulu42]

You ever tried to put a cat in a toilet????

No, I have not... have you??

 

[RowdyRay]

Missed this one. Nice shots.

I grew up less than a mile from a local airport. Spent many hours washing, polishing and fueling planes. That got me lots of hours in the air. Got to know the private pilots and they'd let me fly once it was in the air. Buzzed my house several times.

The ag pilots were a blast, but I wasn't allowed to fly. Just hang on and enjoy the ride. Only got to do that a few times. They are far from the craziest. Bush pilots can't even claim that. That's "flying by the seat of your pants". Flew into Canadian lakes at least 6 times. Each has a story, and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

If you want the craziest, hitch a ride on a chopper sprayer. OMG! Like the best carnival ride you've ever been on. Think the pilot muted my mic for the first 10 minutes. A mixture of laughing and swearing. They are completely nuts.

I've spent hundreds of hours in the air in small aircraft. Never been on a commercial airplane. They scare the crap out of me. Lol.

 

[smoke665]

If you want the craziest, hitch a ride on a chopper sprayer. OMG! Like the best carnival ride you've ever been on. Think the pilot muted my mic for the first 10 minutes. A mixture of laughing and swearing. They are completely nuts.

Choppers are like Bumble Bees, there's no way they should be flying and I don't intend on being in one when the realization hits!! LOL

I was fortunate that Dad had his own plane, a Cessna 150, parked on it's own runway on the farm. Spent many hours in the air with him. We also sold ag chemicals, and the runway served as the staging point for the Ag pilots working the area farms.

 

[Fujidave]

OMG I love that 2nd shot, bet that would be fun.