Ag Aviation's 100th Anniversary Event

Bill Carey August 03, 2021
NAAA 100th anniversary event

Credit: Bill Carey

The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) hosted the 100th anniversary event at a ProJet Aviation hangar at JYO. Among the speakers were NAAA CEO Andrew Moore and Doug McKalip, a senior aide to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

Lt. John A. Macready

Credit: NAAA

Army Air Service Lt. John A. Macready piloted the first recorded aerial application flight on Aug. 3, 1921, flying a modified JN-6 Jenny biplane over a moth-infested catalpa grove in Ohio.

Helicopter treats a field

Credit: NAAA

There are 1,560 aerial application businesses in the U.S. that operate a fleet of 3,588 aircraft, including 574 helicopters, for agriculture as well as firefighting, according to the NAAA.

Air Tractor AT-802

Credit: Bill Carey

Leading agricultural aircraft manufacturer Air Tractor of Olney, Texas, builds seven different models, including the AT-802, its largest. The company is nearing certification of a larger AT-1002, with a 1,060-gallon hopper capacity.

AT-802F Fire Boss

Credit: NAAA

Air Tractor also builds an AT-802F Fire Boss air tanker variant, equipped with Wipaire floats. A Boeing-Stearman 75 ag plane became the first fixed-wing aircraft to be used in aerial firefighting in August 1955, when it dropped fire retardent over the Mendocino National Forest in California.

Thrush Aircraft Model 510

Credit: Thrush Aircraft

A Thrush 510G powered by a GE H80 turbine engine treats cropland. Thrush Aircraft, based in Albany, Georgia, is the second-leading U.S. manufacturer of agricultural aircraft.

Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch

Credit: Bill Carey

Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch related how Disney contacted him, wanting to know if the manufacturer could loan one of its airplanes to help promote the 2013 animated film Planes on the air show circuit. 'All the ag operators were busy, there wasn’t an airplane for sale, our production was completely sold out,' said Hirsch. 'It wasn’t like we had a showroom full of airplanes that we could pluck one out and loan it.'

Dusty Crophopper

Credit: Bill Carey

Air Tractor referred Disney to Rusty Lindeman, the owner of Rusty’s Flying Service of D’Hanis, Texas, who agreed to refurbish an AT-400 and paint it to resemble Dusty Crophopper, the film’s protagonist, who aspired to be a race plane but was afraid of heights. Rusty and Lea Lindeman have donated the aircraft to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

Principals of agricultural aviation in the U.S., family members and others gathered on Aug. 3 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the industry during an event at Leesburg Executive Airport (JYO) in Virginia.

Bill Carey

Bill covers business aviation and advanced air mobility for Aviation Week Network. A former newspaper reporter, he has also covered the airline industry, military aviation, commercial space and uncrewed aircraft systems. He is the author of 'Enter The Drones, The FAA and UAVs in America,' published in 2016.

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