Staying Sharp

HANDS ON FLYING

Tracy Thurman thurmantracyt@gmail.com

Every profession has a skillset. Whether you’re a doctor, garbage man, basketball player or agpilot. These are skills we work hard to attain, strive to enhance and endeavor to preserve. As you work your way up, you never stop learning. The day you think you’ve learned it all is the day you need to hang up your helmet.

Your skill level is yours and yours alone. No one can do anything with it but you. You can let it corrode or keep it shined up and sharp. You can grow or stagnate. One thing for sure, whatever you do, it will eventually show; one way or another. Hopefully the result won’t be as drastic as having anything to do with sad singing and slow walking. On the other hand, you can always spot a guy who’s got his guns clean and sighted in. He’s efficient, safe and ready. Not to mention, he’s usually in a better mood.

Complacency can sneak up on the best of us. Rust builds up quickly in the slow season. Barnacles grow in the off season. The first few hours back in the seat require extra attention and the need to take more time. It doesn’t matter how many years you’ve been at it, if you’re out of practice, you’re behind the power curve before you even start. Give yourself a break and take it easy, at least until you’ve got your back pockets welded to the seat again. A ton of hours and a lifetime of seasons won’t do anything to improve the stall characteristics of your aircraft. Your effective swath width isn’t going to change and the chemical will drift just as much as it would at any other time.

It’s not only the off season that affects us, the redundancy of day to day (or night to night) operations can lull a pilot into a rut where he’s flying and functioning simply by rote. We’ve all experienced that at one time or another. Especially when the season gets long in the tooth and we’re getting worn and weary. It’s something we need to always watch out for and guard against.

It’s important for ag-pilots to familiarize themselves with the new chemistries that are always emerging, as well staying current on the ones we already use. Most of us spent at least a few years mixing chemicals and dragging the load hose. Once you’ve gotten in the seat, however, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about what goes on with the mix rig anymore. On the contrary. As the PIC, it’s your tail feathers on the line if you spray the wrong stuff. You’ll also be the guy flailing around the sky with a gummed up spray system, if the mix procedure wasn’t done correctly. Be aware of everything that goes in the airplane and everything that comes out. When it does, where it does and how it does it. Mistakes are costly. Excuses are pointless.

You’ll recall, your flight instructor probably told you to always look for an out. In this job, it takes on more meaning. There’s a lot that can happen with a spray plane or helicopter flying six to ten feet off the ground. A pilot needs to be well versed in emergency procedures in all aspects of the operation. The ground crew needs to be trained as well. What will they do if there’s a large chemical or fuel spill? An incapacitated crew member? What if the airplane rolls away while the pilot is away from it? Are they trained to respond correctly in case of a fire? Do they know where the emergency shut off valves are? Are the valves themselves in good working order? Training is valuable. The time spent making sure everyone involved is knowledgeable and prepared is a small investment that could pay huge dividends if things go bad. And, we all know when they do, they do it in a hurry.

If you’re flying a different airplane, even if it’s the same type, burn a little fuel exploring that particular aircraft’s stall tendencies. Every bird has its own personality. It is in the pilot’s best interests to familiarize himself with the handling characteristics that are unique to the aircraft he is flying. A heavily loaded, downwind turn is no place to discover a wing drop or C.G. issue. Trust me on that one

Make sure you practice things like jettisoning a load. No ag-pilot should ever embark on a season without making sure he is familiar with the safe and proper way to dump the hopper if he needs to. If you find yourself in that sort of situation, you’re likely going to have plenty of other things on your mind. The same applies to landing with a load. If you haven’t had to do it, just wait. You will. Again, be familiar with the way your airplane behaves in that situation. Does the airplane tend to drop the tail on final? Does it drop the nose? What’s your best “loaded” approach and landing speed? Are the baffles installed properly in your hopper? If they’re not, you’ll find out quick. At just the wrong time. These are things a smart pilot will work himself up to. A hundred or so gallons at a time. Don’t wait until you need those skills to try to attain them.

Staying sharp is what professionals do. We’ve each spent too much time, sweat and effort into getting where we are to allow our skills to become dull. There is always room for improvement, there is always something new to learn or some way to do what we do even better. It’s part of the ongoing challenge. Be a great ag-pilot, then strive to be a better one. And, stay in a good mood…

Fly Well, and Stay Safe!