Aerial Spray Job (several photos)

[TXForesterII]

Part of a job to convert a brushy hardwood area to a pine plantation.

The egg-beater arrives from another job site.


One of the ground crew getting ready to go up and show the pilot the area to be sprayed.




Loading up the sprayer's tank and adding Jet A to the fuel tank. Refilling takes about five minutes and maybe five to ten minutes to empty the spray tank and come back to the truck. It took numerous trips to complete a 150 acre area.



Coming in for a refill.


While you're at it, can you get the windshield and check and check under the hood?


Launch from the truck.




Gotta get low sometimes.


Coming around for another pass.

[revjvegas]

The pilot lands on top of the truck rig?!

ok. Dang. He's got skills.

[dmcantrell]

Is that camouflage on the helicopter? If so, why?

[TXForesterII]

Originally Posted by revjvegas

The pilot lands on top of the truck rig?!

ok. Dang. He's got skills.

Yes he does. It took many refillings to do the job and I got to watch him land a bunch. He doesn't hover much. Drops down over some nearby trees, hovers for just a moment, then drops about 30 feet while moving ahead a couple yards. Takes only a few seconds.

When he came from another job site in Marshall, he came in almost directly to the landing zone. Probably due to the GPS (see antenna mounted above windscreen). Came over and made a 180 and in just seconds saw what he needed to see and landed. I had just run past where he would sit it down to grab my camera. He put it down between the truck and my suv.

That was the beginning of my camera and my face getting pelted by sand for a couple hours.

[TXForesterII]

Originally Posted by dmcantrell

Is that camouflage on the helicopter? If so, why?

Yes. I don't know the answer, but I'd guess the pilot and some other people in the company are retired military.

[revjvegas]

they are almost always retired military.

I had the pleasure of flying inland to offshore with a few of those guys. Crazy fun is all I got to say.

[Flynlow]

Originally Posted by TXForesterII

When he came from another job site in Marshall, he came in almost directly to the landing zone. Probably due to the GPS (see antenna mounted above windscreen).

That does look like a GPS antenna. I've never seen one mounted there though. Those knife looking devices on the top and bottom are the wire strike protection system. They claim you have a 95% chance of surviving a single-wire strike with this system! Not sure I'd wanna find out!

[TXForesterII]

Originally Posted by Flynlow

That does look like a GPS antenna.

Must be. Looks like the staff mounted antennas we used in school. You can see the cables running down the knife. It probably serves a double purpose as part of the navigation system and a means of automatically controlling the spray unit based on aircraft position.