Daredevil Of Farming

In today's video we get to see a cool part of farming: crop dusters/air tractors. We see them in action on one of our fields, and have the opportunity to get up close and personal with them. Thank you for watching through my ad placements: they are what make my farming dreams possible, so I really appreciate it!!

A note for headphone users: I edited this video while wearing headphones and I understand your comments about the one sided audio on previous videos now. I will take a look at my mic settings and see what I can do about them. Thank you for your understanding! I'm a farmer first and a youtube second lol.

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[Robalogot]

As a relatively experienced pilot, crop dusting scares the shit out of me. The risk is massive, if anything goes wrong you've got nowhere to go. The only thing that tops this when it comes to danger are firefighter planes.

[lawrencekiel-sr]

It's been 45 years now, and there was a farmer who grew acres of delicious sweet corn about a quarter mile from my house. We had a local crop sprayer plane airstrip about a quarter mile in the opposite direction. Every Sunday morning, the plane ( like the one in your video) took off flew low over my house, and we hear the plane make about 5-6 passes and then return to base. One morning, I heard the plane engine suddenly stop. I leaped out of bed and said, " he crashed." I drove to the corn field and saw the pilot walking. He said the morning sun blinded him, and he caught a wing in the tree line. Fortunately, he was okay.

[jhaedtler]

I'm a retired aircraft mechanic. I serviced those beasts for a living! They make 2 seat versions if you kids wanted to go for a ride in a field! It's a blast. Not easy flying, Days are long! Thanks for the videos!

[SemperFido]

I used to be a cotton inspector for the state, and while I was out in a field, I had to use the porta-john. I was inside when I heard a plane coming, and when he passed over, he bumped the roof of the porta-john with his wheel. I had no problems going after that. Those guys are amazing.

[loisrinehart]

When I was in high school a hundred years ago, I worked for our local airport in the summer. I got to flag for the crop duster planes. They would fly 3 feet off the crops. You’d wave a white flag on a 10 foot pole for them to line up on you then take 19 steps across the field and watch them fly 15 feet away from you. They’d bank hard and almost fly back on themselves. After getting to the end of the field, we’d jump in the pickup and bust butt to the next one while they refilled with chemicals. We’d start at 430 in the morning and go till it got too hot to spray. Go back out at 6pm and spray till dark. That was the best job I could have had. I’m 74 now and still miss it. Have fun kids. Keep up the great videos. Thanks.

[markknister]

Used to watch the dusters over the cotton fields in Arizona. They dusted with DDT - we frolicked in it! I’m 75, hasn’t killed me yet.
No plane, please. Just watch and ride.

[vokieman]

The crop dusting video was amazing.. They fly so fast and low it is thrilling to watch . Thanks for sharing it .

[dennislarson]

Those pilots are amazing! Thanks for sharing an insider view of the crop-dusting industry -- it's quite interesting.

[rogerthompson]

My cousin was a crop-duster. He had a bar between the landing wheels with spray nozzles mounted on the bar. He'd come back with corn tassels caught in between the nozzle and the bar. He's retired now.

[astrogatorjones]

My in-laws are crop pilots and fly Air Tractors out in western Kansas. Makes me smile.

[dklop]

Here in the PNW, most of the Air Tractors have floats with water intakes and are used, usually in pairs, to drop water/retardant on fires, forests, wildland, and grains fields that burn from lighting strikes, bad train brakes, and humans. There have been a lot of flights in the last couple of weeks. The work with other much larger tanker planes, heliocopters, and smoke jumpers supporting the ground crews. Sadly lost a Fire Boss in Oregon a couple of weeks ago.

[earlking]

I was a truck driver. One time I was on the Ohio Turnpike and a crop duster went over and I could have sworn that he must my trailer by inches. I actually thought that he was going to land on it

[vandalorian]

Awesome airplane.Air Tractor just started producing these for the military. Seems that if you empty/remove the spray tank/equipment, they can carry a lot of bombs and rockets.

[peartree]

The company I work for has a sister company that makes the spray and dry spreaders for these aircraft. They also have a water spreader that can be installed so they can help fight grass fires. The company is called Transland and they’re in Wichita Falls Texas. They also make a military version that has guns and if I remember correctly it can drop bombs like the WW-2 planes.

[vrotait]

As a licensed pilot of many years with no flying for a long time now, I thoroughly love it when a turbine Air Tractor roars across your property spraying the corn! I really enjoyed the episode when you went up in the little yellow Piper Cub (I love flying those too) for a hoon around his home base near Henderson. Glad to see you're still grinning as wide as Nebraska when he or others come back for another job! Cheers from David in NZL 😁🤣❤🛩
LOL, I managed to find the flight recording on Flight Radar as he was spraying the field across the road and over your house! His steep 180º turns at the end of a run are about a quarter mile wide!

[mikeborkhuis]

Those Air Tractors are super cool. I've been to the factor where they make them in Onley, TX. If you think those are big, you should see the fire fighting 802 Fire Boss on the floats.

Also, while spraying with airplanes is cool. And common in areas like yours where there are wide open spaces, check out a helicopter spraying operation sometime. They work of loading trucks that travel with the helicopters as they move from field to field, so they don't need to return to the airport to resupply or refuel. The helicopters can get into tighter fields than the planes.

[ubermikepgh]

Here’s an idea for y’all :-)

Next year, ask the pilot if you can hook up your GoPro to the plane :-)

Then you will have all that aerial view of your property.

[carlasbury]

I am 84 years young and my very first plane ride was in a bi-plane crop duster spraying strawberries in South Florida. That would have been in 1949. I will never forget the experience. Planes were a lot different back then though, No where as closest to the speed this guy is going. Exciting and would like to ride in that one but I don't think that those have 2 seats because of the extra weight.

[sethcornish]

Worked 2 summers for a crop duster in western Nebraska when I was in highschool. Lots of work and 16 hour days but I made a lot of money. He would get so low to the ground sometimes that we would pull suger beet leaves out of the rims of the plane.

[rickyweber]

Back in the 1960's in Northwest Oklahoma yellow biplanes were the crop dusters. Loud slow but it was fun to watch them spray our wheat fields for green bugs.