The Best Agricultural Pilot

VOLO PER VERITAS / FLYING FOR THE TRUTH

Juliana Torchetti Coppick jutorchetti@yahoo.com.br

In any activity, the pursuit of excellence is a habit of quality professionals. In fact, the word “excellence” by itself sounds very attractive to the ears. We like to put it on our resumes and advertisements. Disagreements begin when we ask ourselves: what is excellence really? What defines a great agricultural pilot? If the concept of “excellence” is misrepresented, what we do in the name of this search, instead of making us better professionals, can lead to disastrous results.

In our business, inflated egos are more common than we like to admit. So it is not uncommon to find pilots or operators who call themselves “the best”. Is being the best the safest, the fastest, the most daring or the one who makes the most money? Is excellence the combination of all these characteristics? As readers may have noticed, today I have more questions than answers.

However, I don’t expect a guru to emerge as one of those fictional characters (a kind of Master Yoda or Master of the Magi) and calmly guide us through the dark valley of uncertainty. Especially because we know that there is no single recipe for success. In fact, this is another concept that varies from person to person. What we are in the professional field inevitably reflects much of who we are as people. Our priorities, values, fears, vanities and ambitions ... Each of these things will have a different impact on our “excellence / success” equation.

I usually use a technique that has proven to be quite efficient over the years; I tend to observe the attitude of respected and experienced aviators. In particular, I pay attention to individuals with a safety history and less conceited personalities; since vanity, as a rule, is a terrible advisor. However, a veteran pilot with his head in place can be a source of wisdom nectar worth drinking.

In addition to these aviators, I look for information in books and publications. I always think that we need to differentiate information and opinion. Having an opinion is not a sin ... on the contrary, it is a right! But honestly, if an aviator’s opinion goes against the operations manual, for example, where does that place his/her opinion?

When in doubt, I follow the manual. After all, when we take command of an aircraft, we are responsible for its operation. And, if I have to explain myself to a judge, I think it is better to justify my decisions supported by the aircraft’s operations manual than by the opinion of that “Top Gun” friend.

Oddly, in agricultural aviation it seems to be more common to be involved in an accident or incident, than to operate within limits. Fuel exhaustion crashes, collision with wires, operations above the maximum takeoff / landing weight limit yield more surprises than doing things “by the book”.

I know many will say that in agricultural aviation, if the operation strictly follows the manual, money is not made. But I ask, “How much money does an accident cost? How much does a structural crack cost due to constant mechanical fatigue? What is the value of our professional image before the market and society? And more importantly, how much is your life worth?”

Do not worry about answering my questions as they are merely invitations to reflect. In fact, I am extremely cautious when someone tells me that I am an “influencer” or an “opinion maker”. I prefer to believe that we are all capable of developing our own opinions and guidelines for decision making.

Of the few things I can say with certainty in this article, one of them is: our limit must always be lower than that of the plane (That is not my opinion. It is a basic concept of survival to operate the aircraft).

Is it possible to exceed the aircraft limit and get out of the situation unscathed? Of course, yes! I believe many of us have done this at least once (I have!), Either through ignorance or misinformation. But to continue down that path is to play Russian roulette. As I have written earlier in other articles, there is a huge difference between error and violation. When I listen to my mentors in aviation, I pay close attention to how they reacted after a mistake. From that is where I draw my most valuable lessons.

In addition to following selected veterans as mentors, I like quality information because it serves to refute or validate habits we pilots have developed throughout our careers. There is a guide published by NAAA (National Agricultural Aviation Association) called “Professional Operating Guidelines” that is extremely rich in information. The guide contains 60 pages of quality information. In a succinct and assertive manner, the publication deals with flight techniques, customer relations, personnel selection and training, communication between solo pilot-team, among other subjects. It is important to note the guide makes it clear that it is a material whose purpose is to guide and assist, but that each operator is responsible for their decisions and must be able to develop the aero-agricultural activity in a safe manner.

I know that in many aspects of our work we are under extensive regulation, but on the other hand, there is still a lot of flexibility with regard to the way ag-aircraft operate. Therefore, it is a good idea to seek quality information, be it from a mentor or in the pages of a good book. They say that in life we are strongly influenced by the people we live with, the books we read and the places we visit. I agree. And the same goes for our professional life.

I take this article to say a brief “Goodbye as a contributing writer at AgAir Update”. In the coming months, I will be absent from the pages of AgAir Update as I will be immersed in other personal and professional projects that will demand my complete dedication. I am infinitely grateful to those who have dedicated precious minutes of their lives reading my articles. I leave you in good hands because AgAir Update magazine has a top team.

Here in the United States, many fields in the north will soon be covered with snow. Pilots and aircraft (at least those who work more in the north of the country) will be recharging their energy for the next harvest. I recently spent four weeks in Brazil and suffered from the heat. My friends and family joked that I had become a “gringa” and got too used to the cold weather here in Illinois. Ha! So, to prove the contrary, I say goodbye to you as one who never forgets from where she came.

For all of you, “a hug and a kiss! ”. Fly safely!