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Caution: Low Flying Aircraft in Area...

Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
728
Reaction score
32
Location
Nassau Bay, TX
First Name
David
Last Name
Dietrich
Got crop dusted this morning :puke:

Definitely not what I was expecting on my casual, country ride to work. Pretty cool 'till the toxic cocktail dried white on my face shield. I did get what appeared to be an apologetic wing dip on his next pass. That, or he knocked the stick while he bent over laughing.

Good thing I already took care of having kids.
 
That sucks... On the bright side you might not have to worry about getting lice, ticks, or fleas anytime soon. ;-)
 
You're alright; the chemical they're spraying isn't nearly as toxic as you might imagine. My brother-in-law has been cropdusting in open-cockpit aircraft for over 30 years now and he's doing fine. Every time he turns to make another pass over a field, he flies through the stuff, getting coated with chemical that's hanging in the air from the previous pass. He wears no protective gear other than sunglasses and so far, hasn't experienced any ill effects from his years of exposure. My sister does insist that he takes a shower when he gets home; there's something about the smell that she objects to. ;-)
 
Were you riding up 288? I was buzzed there this AM by a yellow plane- talk about a funny taste suddenly appearing on my lips. If you saw the same guy - he was barely over the car tops! Actually looked like he was having a blast.

I took a loop down through West Columbia and back up to Houston - nothing major but wasn't it a nice morning!

Dave.
 
190 Octane said:
That sucks... On the bright side you might not have to worry about getting lice, ticks, or fleas anytime soon. ;-)

:rofl :rofl
 
Howdy,

:tab For years we lived right next to a small airport just outside of Alvin owned by some local crop dusters. Their planes were underbelly monowing monsters! They had huge radial piston engines that made the ground shake like an earthquake. Every morning, 5:00 am... my bedroom would rumble and the windows rattle as they would lift off together and come right over the house, scarcely 100 feet off the ground. Being in the seventh grade at the time, I thought this was very cool! It also helped that I could sleep through anything once I had heard it once or twice ;-)

:tab These guys were also competition acrobat flyers. They flew those tiny little high performance biplanes. They used to practice for hours right over our place, smoke trails and all. The crop dusting business is a dangerous business though. Last I had heard, the father and one of the two sons had been killed in accidents while dusting. I think the family business closed up shop.

:tab The chemicals they use now may not be all that toxic to humans. They used to use DDT ;-) They also used to have the mechanics stand down in the field being dusted so the pilot could use him as a refernce to know where he had already sprayed :eek: The good pilots use reference points already on the ground though. I would not have wanted to be one of those guys on the ground... :-|

Adios,
 
>> You're alright; the chemical they're spraying isn't nearly as toxic as you might imagine. My brother-in-law has been cropdusting in open-cockpit aircraft for over 30 years now and he's doing fine. <<


Yeah, he's doing just fine, except for that healthy 5 pound, 4 ounce wire haired terrier that wife just gave birth to. :-)
 
I knew you guys couldn't let that go! Bunch of smart alecks. :-P ;-)

The spotters on the ground are called "flaggers". Most of them were replaced by a device mounted on the plane that would throw out a big wad of toilet paper on every pass. The pilot would use that as his reference point for the next pass and so on. Now, a lot of planes have a GPS device that tracks the entire path of the flight and directs the pilot by a row of indicator lights mounted just in front of the windscreen. At the end of the day the pilot downloads a record of his flight and can get a print-out map showing exactly where he sprayed.

Yes, it's a dangerous business; my brother-in-law has crashed a couple of times, sustaining a broken leg once when he clipped a powerline. He loves it, though. After going on a few simulated crop-dusting runs with him, I can vouch that flying low and fast is a blast. 8-)
 
scratch said:
After going on a few simulated crop-dusting runs with him, I can vouch that flying low and fast is a blast. 8-)

Not unlike pushing the limits on a good bike. :dude:
 
scratch said:
The spotters on the ground are called "flaggers". Most of them were replaced by a device mounted on the plane that would throw out a big wad of toilet paper on every pass.

Note... best way to TP a house, EVER! :lol:


scratch said:
Yes, it's a dangerous business; my brother-in-law has crashed a couple of times, sustaining a broken leg once when he clipped a powerline. He loves it, though. After going on a few simulated crop-dusting runs with him, I can vouch that flying low and fast is a blast. 8-)

Add in canyon walls on either side and "low and fast" takes on a whole new meaning. I almost made a friend of mine cry once over stuff like that. :twisted:
 
scratch said:
The spotters on the ground are called "flaggers".

A long long time ago, in a land not very far away, I worked for a rice farmer. We were the flaggers. They were dropping mostly solids, which could really sting when it hit. For the most part, I rarely got pelted.

I always thought it was much less dangerous than walking the levies looking for leaks. You always walked with your shovel in front, to better kill the mocassins. I killed 13 one week.
 
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