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If flying 8 feet off the ground at 150 mph and pulling into a steep climb to avoid power lines sounds a little dicey, consider the philosophy of veteran crop-duster Ron Young.
The 60-year-old Young, who has been flying crop-dusters since 1965 - except for an eight-year stint in the Air Force - says it was the only way to learn.
Just like the barnstormer mentality is a thing of the past, crop-dusting has changed dramatically in the last decade. For one, it's no longer a young man's game. The spiraling cost of technologically advanced planes and skyrocketing insurance coverage requires pilots to have lots of experience and plenty of cash.
As recently as the early 1990s, a would-be "sprayer" could get his foot in the industry by buying a $60,000 plane. These days, new planes sell for anywhere from $290,000 to $1.4 million. And with higher equipment costs come more expensive insurance premiums, forcing underwriters to lean toward more experienced hands in the cockpit, pilots say.
The high-tech trend is also visible on the ground, where flaggers used to guide pilots through their spray runs. Now, costly but highly accurate global positioning systems let the pilots plot their own course from the cockpit.
"It's a completely different industry, really, there's a lot more professionalism now with extended training," said Clint Hoffman, an agricultural research engineer with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in College Station, Texas.
"It's a lot less toxic," Hoffman said. "They do apply some toxic chemicals, but you don't see DDT and organophosphates that have mammal toxicity. There's just a lot of old chemistry that's no longer used."
This year, there have been eight fatalities nationally and 45 accidents involving agriculture aviation airplanes, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. In Texas, there have been three accidents but no fatalities.
National Agricultural Aviation Association statistics show that the accident rate has decreased over the last decade from 9.50 per 100,000 hours flown to 7.67 accidents per 100,000 hours flown.
The National Agricultural Aviation Association estimates that there are roughly 1,800 nationwide operators, but many do not belong to state or national associations, said executive director Andrew Moore.
The spiraling costs have also caused consolidation and forced many crop-dusters to diversify into aerial firefighting, mosquito control and oil-spill containment as a way to survive.
"When you've got a plane worth $1.4 million, you've got to keep it working one way or the other," said Randy Hale, 48, of Robstown, Texas, president of the National Agricultural Aviation Association.
He sold his business to Bailey Flying Service of Dalhart, Texas, but still manages the one-plane operation at a private strip in the cotton fields west of Plainview.
Until hiring Young this year, Hardage had done all of the flying. This year, which has been slow because of drought conditions, he has let Young handle most of the spraying.
"It's worked out well," Hardage said. "You have more flexibility because you can move the plane to Dalhart if things are hopping up there or they can come down here if we're busy."
This year, an ongoing drought has slowed crop-dusting to a crawl. Last year, planes were flying from dawn to dusk. This year, Young is flying only a couple of days a week.
"You have record-breaking years, and you have money-losing years," said Hardage, president of the Texas Agricultural Aviation Association. "This will be one of the money losers, but you have to plan for those, and we have."
When Hardage started crop-dusting in the early 1990s, he was still able to buy a plane for as little as $60,000. Those planes, which were modified for crop-dusting, were far more dangerous than current turbine-engine planes in which the risk of engine failure is minimal.
"I honestly don't think I'll be flying sprayers when I'm 60," Probasco said. "I don't know if I'll be flying that long. Father Time is knocking on my door."
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If flying 8 feet off the ground at 150 mph and pulling into a steep climb to avoid power lines sounds a little dicey, consider the philosophy of veteran crop-duster Ron Young.
The 60-year-old Young, who has been flying crop-dusters since 1965 - except for an eight-year stint in the Air Force - says it was the only way to learn.
Just like the barnstormer mentality is a thing of the past, crop-dusting has changed dramatically in the last decade. For one, it's no longer a young man's game. The spiraling cost of technologically advanced planes and skyrocketing insurance coverage requires pilots to have lots of experience and plenty of cash.
As recently as the early 1990s, a would-be "sprayer" could get his foot in the industry by buying a $60,000 plane. These days, new planes sell for anywhere from $290,000 to $1.4 million. And with higher equipment costs come more expensive insurance premiums, forcing underwriters to lean toward more experienced hands in the cockpit, pilots say.
The high-tech trend is also visible on the ground, where flaggers used to guide pilots through their spray runs. Now, costly but highly accurate global positioning systems let the pilots plot their own course from the cockpit.
"It's a completely different industry, really, there's a lot more professionalism now with extended training," said Clint Hoffman, an agricultural research engineer with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in College Station, Texas.
"It's a lot less toxic," Hoffman said. "They do apply some toxic chemicals, but you don't see DDT and organophosphates that have mammal toxicity. There's just a lot of old chemistry that's no longer used."
This year, there have been eight fatalities nationally and 45 accidents involving agriculture aviation airplanes, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. In Texas, there have been three accidents but no fatalities.
National Agricultural Aviation Association statistics show that the accident rate has decreased over the last decade from 9.50 per 100,000 hours flown to 7.67 accidents per 100,000 hours flown.
The National Agricultural Aviation Association estimates that there are roughly 1,800 nationwide operators, but many do not belong to state or national associations, said executive director Andrew Moore.
The spiraling costs have also caused consolidation and forced many crop-dusters to diversify into aerial firefighting, mosquito control and oil-spill containment as a way to survive.
"When you've got a plane worth $1.4 million, you've got to keep it working one way or the other," said Randy Hale, 48, of Robstown, Texas, president of the National Agricultural Aviation Association.
He sold his business to Bailey Flying Service of Dalhart, Texas, but still manages the one-plane operation at a private strip in the cotton fields west of Plainview.
Until hiring Young this year, Hardage had done all of the flying. This year, which has been slow because of drought conditions, he has let Young handle most of the spraying.
"It's worked out well," Hardage said. "You have more flexibility because you can move the plane to Dalhart if things are hopping up there or they can come down here if we're busy."
This year, an ongoing drought has slowed crop-dusting to a crawl. Last year, planes were flying from dawn to dusk. This year, Young is flying only a couple of days a week.
"You have record-breaking years, and you have money-losing years," said Hardage, president of the Texas Agricultural Aviation Association. "This will be one of the money losers, but you have to plan for those, and we have."
When Hardage started crop-dusting in the early 1990s, he was still able to buy a plane for as little as $60,000. Those planes, which were modified for crop-dusting, were far more dangerous than current turbine-engine planes in which the risk of engine failure is minimal.
"I honestly don't think I'll be flying sprayers when I'm 60," Probasco said. "I don't know if I'll be flying that long. Father Time is knocking on my door."
This is cache, read story here
