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Spray drift? check out this site http://spraydrift.com/ The main goal is to encourage any use of chemicals at the optimum time with respect to weather conditions and avoid drift to off target areas. Last pilot meetings coming up - check the list below. Make sure you have your say.
First, its good to see such a responsible attitude from a product supplier. Second, ensuring that lime has good flow properties such that emergency jettison requirements can be met is a complex business, but it is bound to involve particle size (get rid of fine material ie anything smaller than 0.5mm) and moisture content. Anyway, well done McDonalds Lime for fronting up with the problem.
Place Date Venue Auckland March 10 North Shore Aero Club Hamilton March 9 Waikato Aero Club New Plymouth March 5 New Plymouth Aero Club Palmerston Nth March 4 Aero Club, P Nth airfield Blenheim March 24 Aero club Omaka Ashburton March 17 Aero Club Hokitika April 26 Aero Club Mosgiel April 8 Heli Otago Offices Gore April 6 Croydon Lodge, Gore Te Anau April 7 Real Journeys Community Centre All meetings are in the evening starting at 7pm. Main topic - The ag aviation industry and self administration. Tell others about the meetings (members and non members). Want more information? Call John Maber on 07 8298 121 or 0274 909 341 or email jmaber@gmail.com A paper called "Doing nothing is not an option" sets out the issues and can be downloaded here
John Gardner, who now lives in Auckland is keen to track down an old mate Jim Baker. Jim was a pilot operating Fletchers with Robinsons Air Services from around 1969 to 1980 in Te Kuiti. John reckons he was also at one time the secretary of the ag pilots organisation (AGPANZ?) from about 1980. Jim lived for a while at Otorohanga, in Redland Road, where he had trotting horses. If you know where Jim is these days John would like to hear from you. His contact details are: ph 09 4799318 101/21 Fairview Ave, Albany Auckland 0632 New Classified Section Checkout the new Classified section in the Members menu - there might be a good deal for you. | |
| November 09 Newsletter November 09 Newsletter now available - Follow this link! Checkout the new Classified section in the Members menu - there might be a good deal for you | |
Pilot Chemical Ratings and Approved Handler Certificates If you hold a current pilot chemical rating you are deemed to hold an approved handler certificate - but only for the "use" or application phase. If an agrichemical requires an approved handler certificate for storage for example, or the sustance is tracked (Class 6.1A, 6.1B and 6.1C), which means you need an approved handler certificate to take possession of it, then the deemed approved handler certificate will not be sufficient. You will need an approved handler certificate that covers other activities such as storage and disposal. One option is to have ground crew with the required approved handler certificate, but for tracked substances they must on site when the substance is used. | |
Fatalities on NZ farms While this article does not reference agricultural aviation the message is no different. | |
Press release on price rises Cost-cutting by topdressing pilots bidding for work from hard-pressed farmers has led to a cutting of safety corners that in turn has seen a "grossly unacceptable" 13 pilots killed since 2000. About a third of the industry's 115 topdressing planes need to be replaced. One business expert says prices will have to rise by up to 25 per cent soon if the industry is to survive. James Lockhart, of Massey University's college of business, said the topdressing industry was in danger of self-destructing unless it raised prices to allow out-of-date aircraft to be replaced with modern and safer models. "But it cannot do this while continuing to charge prices from yesteryear," Dr Lockhart said. To allow that reinvestment to occur the industry would need to raise charges by 20 per cent to 25 per cent, he said. About a third of the fleet needed to be replaced immediately at a cost of US$1.5 million (NZ$2.2m) each. Dr Lockhart said aerial topdressing was an essential tool for the prosperity of hill country farmers and the New Zealand economy so it must not be allowed to fail. Agricultural Aviation Association executive officer John Maber said topdressers typically charged between $80 and $110 a tonne depending on the aircraft type and size of job. "In some situations we have heard of figures getting down to $50 or even $40 a tonne. It just won't work." But farmers were like anyone else and would take the lowest price available, he said. Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson said the rise would come as sheep and beef farmers, the heaviest users of topdressing, were starting to recover from their worst patch in 50 years. The fortunes of topdressing pilots would ebb and flow with the fortunes of farmers, Mr Nicolson said. Association president Tony Michelle said under-pricing was leading to pilots cutting safety corners to make ends meet. The 13 pilots' deaths since 2000 were "grossly unacceptable" in an industry that had just 115 [fixed-wing] topdressing aircraft. |