I am an AG PILOT

By Emily Daniel

My alarm goes off at 4:00 am, and I can smell the pot of coffee brewing in the kitchen. I set it the night before to give myself an extra few minutes of sleep in the morning. The dogs begin to yawn and stretch as I groggily roll out of bed. I throw on shorts and a t-shirt as I let the dogs out. I pour my coffee and pack my snacks for the day. I finish feeding the dogs and then move on to the outside animals. With everyone fed, I quickly brush my teeth, wrangle my hair into a braid, and put on some sunscreen. The time is now 4:30 am, and I am getting in my truck to head to work.

I pull up to the farm airstrip at 4:45 am. The crew is there getting the airplanes ready while I review the flying schedule. We sit down for the morning brief at 5:00 am. Once everyone is briefed and safety procedures have been discussed, we hit the ground running. Everyone heads to their airplane to finish their preflight, and one-by-one, we get loaded, are handed a map, and fire up our engines. The first airplane takes off, and the time is now 5:25 am, just a few minutes before sunrise. I relish this golden hour of flight. Sunrises are much more hopeful than sunsets in my opinion. The air is cool and crisp, there is just a flicker of a breeze beginning, and it feels like you can accomplish anything. I try to hold onto that feeling and remember it as the air becomes more turbulent with each passing hour of daylight.

The above description is my daily morning routine from mid-May to mid-September every year. We will fly until

we run out of work or the weather forces us to park the airplanes. In the early part of the season, we run out of work first. When we hit mid-season, the weather becomes the primary reason we shut down, and the work begins to pile up. We go as fast as we can, safely, for those few busy weeks.

So, what exactly do I do? I am a crop duster, agricultural pilot, aerial applicator. These terms all describe the same activity, known today as aerial application.

While I am a third generation pilot, when growing up I had no aspiration to pursue aviation as a career.

I enjoyed flying, but I had the ultimate goal of studying meteorology to become a broadcast meteorologist, flying for fun on my days-off, and learning aerobatics. My dad, who was one of my instructors, encouraged me to obtain all of my ratings regardless. He explained that additional ratings and training would make me a better, safer pilot. I am so glad I listened. When I reached the end of college, I had interned and worked weekends at a local television station for weather. I had gone on to get my multi-engine and commercial ratings, competed in the Air Race Classic, and had been working on my CFI at the time. Something in my gut did not feel right about my career choice, and I decided to take a leap to switch careers back to aviation.

I had begun dating my husband at the time, who had introduced me to his family business, an aerial application business in New Jersey, only about an hour from my childhood home. I began working weekends and spent the summer working on the ground loading airplanes, digitizing maps, and doing a lot of what we call the “grunt work”. Within a week I was hooked. There was something really special about this type of work. It was aviation, but it was also farming. The work we were doing really made a difference in helping farmers and our local economy. Being a part of the agricultural process deeply resonated with me, which is the reason I chose to pursue a career in this profession.

It was a lot easier said than done. Although I was family by this time, I was not able to just hop in the plane and fly. At the majority of aerial application companies, pilots without prior aerial application experience start on the ground loading airplanes and learning how the operation works, sometimes for as much as two years without prior agriculture or farming experience. While many people assume this is what pilots have to do in order to “pay their dues”, this trial period actually acts as an interview process. It allows the aspiring pilot to learn how the business works, learn the chemistry side of things, learn basic aircraft maintenance, and how to handle different emergency situations from other pilots, among many other things. Similarly, this trial period allows the employer to see how the aspiring pilot acts in a multitude of scenarios. Does the person have a strong work ethic? How does he or she handle pressure and stress? Does this person treat both equipment and people with respect? The answers to these questions and many more are all answered during this period in time. It takes a lot of trust and patience for both parties to put a new pilot in an airplane. Insurance and training costs add up significantly, in addition to the time spent by the employer to train the pilot during the first several seasons.

After that summer, my husband and I traveled for a few years during his Air Force pilot training. Although I was away from the agricultural side of things, I took every opportunity to advance myself as a pilot. I flew jumpers and charter flights, then I finished my CFI, and went on to obtain my CFII. I instructed at all the local airports on our journey, and received the Lubbock FSDO CFI of the Year award in 2017. Each summer I would travel back home to stay current in tailwheel aircraft, and I began flying the Piper Pawnee, practicing takeoffs and landings, learning the GPS, and eventually, practicing with water.

I had significantly more flying experience under my belt when we moved back home and that summer I flew my first successful season in the Piper Pawnee. I learned a lot that year about flying and myself. I understood that I was brand new to this profession and I did my best to soak up every bit of knowledge I could.

I learned early on to never stop learning, because that is when a pilot becomes dangerous. To this day, I do my best to keep learning and pushing myself to become a better pilot than I was the day before.

After my time in the Pawnee, I moved on to fly the Weatherly. The Weatherly is powered by a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney R985. Flying radials and using them as work engines taught me a lot about energy management and how to treat an airplane properly. It also taught me to listen to my engine at all times and be prepared for anything, always having a field picked out to dead stick into if needed.

It had been a shared dream between my husband and I to take over his family business, and it was around this time, as well, that we began the purchase of the company.

Solely relying on the business for our income, we decidedto take a leap and expand our operations into turbineaircraft. Today, we own three turbine Air Tractors, and stillhave a Weatherly and a Pawnee that we use for newerpilots and smaller field applications. We apply productson a variety of crops, including cranberries, blueberries,corn, soybeans, wheat, and more. In the Fall, we spreada large amount of cover crop over fields to reduce soilerosion and provide nutrients to the soil that may havebeen depleted by other crops. We also apply productsthat reduce the amount of mosquitos that hatch formultiple counties in our area. Our home base is in NewJersey, but our aircraft operate in several states, includingPennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and NorthCarolina. During July, we send aircraft to the midwest tohelp other companies apply fungicides and insecticides tocorn during their busy season.

Many people ask if it was difficult to get into this field asa female pilot. While I can say that I have encounteredindividuals in the industry that did not embrace the ideaof female ag pilots, they have been overwhelminglyoutnumbered by some really great people. I have receiveda flood of support from many people associated with myindustry, who have noticed me for my ambition, talent,and passion for my career field, not just that I was afemale pilot. There are over 3,000 agricultural pilots inthe United States, with less than a dozen of them beingfemale. Because of its rarity, I do not expect my gender togo unnoticed, but rather be used as the proving groundsfor any person to be able to chase their own dreams inwhatever field they may choose. Maybe one day there willbe enough representation that a female in this professionwon’t seem so unconventional.

A large part of finding support for me was joining ournational association, the National Agricultural AviationAssociation (NAAA).I attended my firstconvention after myfirst season flying, andwas overwhelmed atthe amount of supportI received and thelifelong friendships Imade. I am still honoredto have been selectedfor the John RobertHorne Memorial Awardin 2020, which is anaward given to anindividual with fiveyears or less experiencein the industry with anexemplary safety recordand has contributed tosafety in ag aviation.I was shocked whenI received this award,and strive to continue prioritizing safety at all times.

Overall, aerial application is an important tool for alltypes of agriculture, both conventional and organic. It isalso a very overlooked career choice in aviation. Aerialapplication treats approximately 71 million acres annually,and is vital in providing a safe, affordable, and abundantfood supply for a growing global population. It has comea long way in its 100 years of history, and is now a verytechnology-driven industry. It has been wonderful tocombine two passions of mine, aviation and agriculture,and turn them into a career choice that is fast-paced,challenging, and rewarding. Even after a long day of flyingwhen I am absolutely exhausted, I look forward to goingto sleep so that I may wake up and do it all over again.