Crop Dusters and Dry Days at Amana Airport

The grass strip at the Amana, Iowa airport looks pretty crispy these days due to regional drought conditions. Not withstanding some area crop fields need spraying for pests, weeds or fertilizer control. Recent growing conditions brought two Grumman Ag Cat crop dusters to Amana's private airport. These types of fixed wing single engine airplanes typically travel regionally during summer months to provide timely and cost effective aerial applications for local farmers.

Onboard these Ag Cats are huge plastic tanks containing the control agent (pesticide, herbicide or fertilizer) in liquid form. The tank is located ahead of the pilot with a section extending into the cockpit. Visual inspection of the fluid levels tell the pilot when the spray mixture has been applied or is about empty.

A series of spray nozzles below the fuselage and wings deliver product to the fields. All of this is powered by huge Pratt & Whitney radial engines that provide tons of horsepower needed to perform steep dives and pull-ups associated with precise spraying. The FAA lists 303 of these Grumman made planes on its register, meaning that about 1/2 percent of entire national fleet can be currently seen at the Amana Airport.

Crop Dusting Near Amana, Iowa

July is crop dusting (or spraying) time in Iowa. Here in Amana, the grass strip airfield hosts a couple of sprayers from various parts of the country. Pilots and planes are rented by farmers to deliver bug management applications on grain crops in these latitudes. Then the pilots move on to other jobs in the area or region. The pilot's skills are airshow worthy, dangerous and fun to watch. On this particular occasion the pilot tested some fix to his plane before filling up with spray and flying to the job. Know that.

Air Tractor At Vinton, Iowa Airport

Crop dusting, also known as aerial spraying, is used for insect and weed control and is big business in 42N country. To tackle the job you need a versatile machine and pilot. Tied down at the Vinton Veterans Memorial Airpark (42.2186389N, 92.0259167W) three miles north of Vinton, Iowa is this Air Tractor (AT) 300 series agricultural aircraft. From the looks of the fuselage, the aircraft has been in service for several years.

While this model may have been manufactured in the 1980s several electronic advances have emerged to assist the farmer who contracts for aerial spraying. One of these advances is a GPS-based process called precision aerial application which can direct spray to those areas of the field that actually need the treatment. This technique results in less chemical use, reduced cost of operation and improves yield results -- sounds just like one of many ag radio commercials heard in 42N country during football season. Know that.