UNITED STATES
REGINA’S PERSPECTIVE
Regina Farmer regina.farmer@chem-man.com
Advice for New Operators
One of the most amazing things about our industry is the willingness to help each other.
B 20 | agairupdate.com
I often get calls from pilots that are ready to be independent and start their own operation. Most likely they’ve been working for someone else awhile and are ready to get out on their own. Although I’m not an ag pilot, I know this feeling. When I first started working, I worked for other people. However, I’m an independent-minded person and wanted to have my own business. I’ve been on my own for around 35 years now and I don’t regret it one bit. But, being in business for yourself is not for everyone. There are a lot of challenges no matter what business you are in. I thought it would be a good idea to ask some operators their thoughts that have experience in ag aviation. I wanted to come up with a few suggestions that might possibly help those who are just getting started. 1. Get a job with an operator and learn as much as you can before you go on your own. Going into it blindly is very difficult. There’s a big learning curve. 2. Getting the pesticide license can be challenging, depending on the state where you test. There’s a lot of training and testing. It can be multiple years to get a commercial pilot’s license. 3. Start with an inexpensive aircraft. Plan and expect for any possible worst case scenario and be happy if things are any better than that. 4. Do as much as you can yourself. Keep overhead low until you can afford otherwise. 5. If you think you have enough money, you probably don’t....
6. Make sure you can be insured. Procuring insurance can be challenging. A choice of underwriters is limited. You’ll probably pay a higher premium the first year; Maybe as much as 10% -20% of the airplane’s value. 7. Your biggest ongoing expenses will be fuel, insurance, cost of plane and maintenance. 8. If looking to buy a used engine, pay more now, or spend more later on maintenance. 9. Become a member of the national and state associations. Take advantage of the benefits they have for people just coming into the business. 10. A rule of thumb that has no reason to be valid is whatever you paid for your plane is what you need to gross every year at a minimum. 11. You’ll have good years and you’ll have bad ones. Keep a good frame of mind. Think positively. One of the most amazing things about our industry is the willingness to help each other. Although there are exceptions, it’s kind of like one big family. I’m going to pass this information on to the young man that called last week. Hopefully this information will help others getting into the business, as well. Be safe y’all!
