Crop Dusting Anyone

[friesman]

Ive always been fascinated by these flyers that can fly 5 feet off the ground spraying crops. These guys fly under power lines and in nasty weather and take their lives in their hands. There is a new series that was shot here in Saskatchewan about the cropdusters called Dust UP and I find it pretty interesting. I thought some of you guys might like to see it too, the episodes of Dust UP are here on the History Channels Website. I hope they dont have the website blocked to people outside Canada, it seems to be happening more and more with webcasts.

 

http://www.history.ca/video/default.aspx

 

Enjoy!!!

[Hummingbird]

it opened but wouldn't play - can't say it was blocked, just maybe a blockhead didn't find the right button

[Scooter Bob]

Dangit, wouldn't actually play here either?

 

Homeland Security or Drug Enforcement Agency are probably afraid it might give people ideas.

 

Karen and I stopped on the way back from the fishin' hole a couple years ago and watched one flying right under the power lines and such, ya fun to watch for sure.

 

Later, Scooter Bob

[Sling]

Back in my early days of aviation work(1970's) I maintained helicopters that were crop dusters. Talk about crazy flying.They would return to base with tree limbs and all sorts of other "ground material" stuck in the skids and the spray booms!! I got a call from one of the pilots complaining "I can't get the RPM's up" So I asked what the other symtoms were,and was told "I think it's because it's laying on it's side but Art thinks it's because it is in 5 feet of water.:whistling:" There were some great times doing that type of work, but there were some very bad times too. Thanks for bringing up memories from a long time ago

[Scooter Bob]

"I can't get the RPM's up" ...."I think it's because it's laying on it's side but Art thinks it's because it is in 5 feet of water.:whistling:"

 

[jlh3rd]

when i was 2, i'd go across the street and sit in the neighbor's back yard and watch the stearmans dust the cotton field behind the houses..our neighborhood was at the city limits in 1955 in louisiana......couldn't get enough of it.....hope this does show up on history here...

[bj66]

I live up here in SD, right in the middle of farm country. Crop dusting happens alot around here of course. Those guys have big ones, no other way to say it. I can think of 3 of them that are no longer with us, or seriously injured. It must be an adrenaline rush for sure. No matter how safe they try to be, all it takes is one time. There was an outfit that flew from a neighbors farm about 3 miles from my house. Every year there was at least one new pilot, if that tells you anything. Over the years, I think that they lost 4 planes, not always losing the pilot of course. But the pilots leased on with their own planes most of the time. It is kind of a nomadic life for some of them. Going from place to place, until they find a good place to fly from. If they get lucky, they will get old and retire.

[Scooter Bob]

It is kind of a nomadic life for some of them. Going from place to place, until they find a good place to fly from. If they get lucky, they will get old and retire.

 

Now, if'n I could only think of some reason to ride my scoot from place to place,

 

And get paid for it.

[Freebird]

I don't see them very often around here but last weekend, I was able to sit on the front porch and watch one spraying the fields across the road from us. Used to see them often when I lived in the Florence, AL aread but not very often around here.

[jointventure]

Brenda and I have helped convert a few OH-58 and HUEYs into crop dusters then painted them in civilian colors. Miss those days.

[Yammer Dan]

Must be 1st Gen Riders.

[KarlS]

Opened but wouldn't play. They still do a lot of dusting in the Thumb of Michigan, very interesting to watch.

[friesman]

I have found some trailers of Dust UP on You tube that everyone should be able to open and view. They arent the whole episode but at least you get a bit of the video and the feeling for Dust Up. I guess they are talking about taking it international next year, that may be why the episodes arent available outside of Canada. There are 8 trailers available on you tube if you look on the right side.

 

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igqDSY0xGx8&feature=related]YouTube - ‪Episode 1 Teaser of Dust Up ~ It Looked Like Death‬‏[/ame]

 

Brian

[RSTDdog]

When I first moved to Cape Coral in 1991, Lee County Mosquito Control used to spray the area using DC 3's. They had 5 DC 3's they used fly in formation just around telephone pole height. We used to go out and watch them (and breath whatever they were spraying). They did it early in the am when the wind was calm, ended up making a fog at ground level. 5 DC 3's over your house is something to see and hear! Budget cuts, fuel prices and environmental restrictions finally ended this. Its been years now since they have done this. Toward the end they only put up one DC3. It was really cool to see...

 

RSTDdog

[jlh3rd]

when i was in 7th grade in shreveport, la.....they were trying to get rid of fire ants......so they started an aerial "bombardment" program using , i think it was called, mirex........and they used B-17's....that..was awsome...