For Friday aviation fun, enjoy this five-minute video by Aggieman1125 depicting crop dusting in Australia with music. I have been fortunate to see crop dusters in action in New Jersey thanks to my friends at Downstown Aero Crop Service who invited me to come and watch them several years ago. For Example see my March 13 2020 post.
Direct link to the March 2007 video on YouTube by Aggieman1125
Direct link to video from Dauntless Air on YouTube
One of the aviation companies I follow on social media is Dauntless Air, a company that flies the Air Tractor AT802F Fireboss airtankers. The AT802F Fireboss is a single engine air tanker that scoops water out of a water body to dump about 800 gallons of water and foam on wildfires. I wrote about Dauntless and their AT802F Fireboss three months ago, where I included the same video I embedded above. Dauntless is based in Appleton, Minnesota with hangers in Minnesota, Texas and Idaho. I applaud Dauntless and their fleet of over 20 AT802F Fireboss aircraft for the important work they do fighting wildfires. I love single engine air tankers so I write this post out of love and respect for these wonderful purpose built firefighting aircraft
Direct link to video from Dauntless Air on YouTube
On early 2009 with the help of my retired air tanker pilot friend, Tom Janney, I began to use this blog to focus on aerial wildland firefighting. Tom died in March 2024 and I wrote a post dedicated to his memory and how he helped me which can be found here. Tom helped my learn about many of the aircraft flying fires in 2009 and was always available if I had questions. Since those early days. I have had a special place in my heart for Single Engine Air Tankers, aka SEATs. Some SEATs, e.g. the Air Tractor AT-802F Fireboss scoop water out of water bodies to use in aerial firefighting. While the capacity of their tanks seems small, about 800 gallons, when compared with larger air tankers they can scoop water from a water source near the fire and make many drops in a matter of a few hours. I learned about Dauntless Air a few years ago and follow them as I can. They have a presence on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter, account required). Dauntless has a fleet of AT-802F Firebosses.
Here is a 33 second video highlighting how the Fireboss scoops water.
I am saddened to write of another fatal SEAT crash, an amphibious AT-802 "Scooper" aka Fireboss from Dauntless Air piloted by Juliana Turchetti crashed while working the Horse Gulch Fire in Montana (burned 10,849 acres at 0 percent containment). I offer my prayers on condolences to Juliana's family, her colleagues from Dauntless and all who loved her. May she always fly in favorable winds.
According to the Daily Montanan (July 11th)
Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton released Turchetti’s identity to the Daily Montanan just after noon on Thursday. The FireBoss pilot died when her plane, a single-engine water-scooping Air Tractor AT-802, hit the mountainside and landed in Hauser Lake, Dutton said in a text message.
Turchetti was employed by Idaho-based Dauntless Air, a company operating firefighting aircraft for more than 25 years who has held state and federal contracts since 2009, according to the company’s website. The company was contracted to fly for the Idaho Department of Lands but was on loan to the U.S. Forest Service, a spokesperson for the Forest Service said.
Dutton said Turchetti was a native of Brazil who was working in the U.S. on a visa. Dutton said Turchetti leaves behind a 17-year-old son and “numerous” family members in Brazil.
Juliana was also an Ag pilot, one of the first women in Brazil to fly Ag planes.
RIP Ronald "Van" Patton. My thoughts and prayers are with your family, colleagues, friends and all who loved you. Edited at 4PM on June 24th to add that thanks to a friend, I saw this post on Facebook from Coastal Air Strike about the fatal SEAT crash. It was not until June 26th that I found out that Kelly Andersson of Fire Aviation made an excellent post on June 24th about the crash, you will want to go and read Kelly's excellent write-up about Ronald "Van" Patton.
For Friday Fun, this is an eighteen minute video from the AOPA's Air Safety Institute about flying an Air Tractor Fire Boss. I am not a pilot, but I did learn a lot from this video. I hope you enjoy it.
I have had the privilege of meeting some Air Tractor 602's up close and personal and seeing them in action as an agricultural aircraft thanks to my friends at Downstown Aero Crop Service in Vineland NJ. Downstown just celebrated their 75th year in business. What can I say, they are elegant planes specially built for their tasks in agricultural and firefighting operations.
Here is a four minute video from Texas Country Reporter (2017) of a video interview and tour of Air Tractor's factory in Olney Texas. Enjoy.
Some cover cropping benefits are seen right away including soil erosion protection. Other benefits such as increased water infiltration, nutrient scavenging, increased soil microbe activity and increased soil organic matter will be seen only after several years of cover cropping on the same fields. This is why we are doing this for 3 consecutive years on the same fields.
While aerially seeding is not the only way to plant a cover crop it is the only way to seed into standing crops that have not been harvested yet. No-till drilling cover crop species after the cash crop is harvested is a very effective way of seeding but as it gets later in the year the farmer is limited to what species he/she can plant. Aerial seeding opens a whole new window of opportunity because it allows for a more diverse mixture of seed species to be planted that all benefit soil in a different way. Drilling cover crop species after harvest limits farmers to very few species that will take root late in the year.
Yes. This occurs across the U.S and is catching on more and more as government programs are helping to fund such seedings. Farmers are also seeing the benefits of cover crops to their operations and seeding cover crops aerially on their own dime as well.
 |
| loading the hopper with seed |
 |
| loading the hopper with seed |
 |
| close-up of loader |
 |
| close up of spreader (disperses seed) |
Air Tractor 802 aircraft Fireboss for firefighting in the summer 2013In memory of bomberos who lost their lives in fighting fire. No staff on the ground, the work of air assets would be much less effective, thanks for the help
