Ag Aviation celebrates 100 years (August 2021)

I did know that ag aviation celebrated 100 years in 2001 through the National Agriculture Aviation Association and also as a subscriber to Ag Air Update. As sometimes happen, I admit to getting involved in other things, including some personal transitions late last summer into the fall, but that is a weak excuse for not writing about ag aviation sooner. What happened to jump start my mind was seeing a post from the  social media late last week with a link to a nice article from the NAAA linking to a nice article in the Air and Space Museum's Winter 2002 edition of Air and Space Quarterly. That is, the Winter edition of the Air and Space Quarterly has a nice article with photos on the history of ag aviation, go here to read the article. I urge you to read the article. A caveat is in order, I am never quite sure how long links like this will be active, so if you are coming here weeks or months after this post and the link does not work, I am sorry.

I know that Downstown Aero Crop Services engages in a variety of ag aviation services. I have personally seen their planes spraying cranberry fields in the Pinelands, and providing cover crop services in northern New Jersey. I have seen videos of their planes spraying for mosquitos near the New Jersey shore. Last but by no means least, Downstown has had contracts with the NJ Forest Fire Service for 54 years providing single engine air tanker services (through 2021). The fine folk at Downstown have been very supportive of my work on this blog over the years, I own them a debt of gratitude and a tip of the hat.

I leave you with a nice video from the NAAA celebrating 100 years of ag aviation, allow a little over nine minutes to watch the video.

Direct link to video from the NAAA on YouTube

Reflections on smaller SEATs Part 3 (300 to 799 gallon tanks) Downstown

I wrote on March 4th about Downstown and I want to continue with some more reflections about the wonderful folk at Downstown. My friends at Downstown have always answered my questions about wildland firefighting or ag aviation. What I do on my blog as I try to focus on wildland firefighting in New Jersey is easier because of Downstown. I have visited their airport and base of operations three times.  In May of 2012, they flew me down to their base in Vineland New Jersey for the afternoon. I had a great time and got to see their base and their planes up close and personal.

Here are some highlights from my visit, there may be some minor changes such as the designation of the SEATs and perhaps some newer equipment. But you will get an idea about what is involved in using a SEAT in southern New Jersey for wildland firefighting:

• dispatch
• loading area
• direct attack
• indirect attack

In addition to wildland firefighting, Downstown is an aerial agricultural operator. They provide a number of services including but not limited to crop fertilization, insect control, and winter cover crop seeding. 

In the fall of 2012, I drove down to the Pine Barrens while they were spraying cranberries. I saw them load the aircraft and spray the fields. It was wonderful. The also introduced me to some cranberry growers to see their operations. Nice to see where those very special New Jersey Cranberries come from and how they arrive at our tables for the Fall holidays. 

I will start with a few shots I took on Downstown’s airstrip in the Pine Barrens showing the fertilizer and and loading into the Air Tractor 602.

I will close by sharing to videos (combination of stills and videos) that I took during this visit.

Direct link to video 0f AT-602

Direct link to video of Ag Cat

Reflections on smaller SEATs Part 1 (300 to 799 gallon tanks): Downstown

It has been my very great privilege to get to know the folk at Downstown Aero Crop Services out of Vineland New Jersey over the last 9 years or so. Downstown has had contracts with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) since 1967 up to and including 2019. That is forty-two years. As I write this, I am not sure about the status of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service contracts for aerial wildland firefighting for 2020.

With the exception of a visit to Ramona Air Attack Base in 2011, the only tankers that I have met up close and personal have been Downstown's SEATs.

Downstown started using Ag Cats for wildland firefighting under contract with the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service in 1967. When I visited the Air Attack Base in northern New Jersey in 2013, Downstown had some Ag Cats on contract with the NJFFS for the spring 2013 wildfire season, and I would like to show you a couple of photos from that visit. I do love the Ag Cats.

Ag Cats at  the NJ Forest Fire Service Air Attack Base in 2013

Ag Cats at  the NJ Forest Fire Service Air Attack Base in 2013

Since I took these photos in 2013, Downstown no longer uses Ag Cats for aerial wildland firefighting, but they continue to use Air Tractors. Here are a couple of photos of a Downstown Air Tractor 602 that I took in 2012.

Finally here is a short video of one of Downstown's Air Tractors dropping on a wildfire in the Cape May area of New Jersey area in 2013.


Direct link to video

I hope to be writing more reflections about smaller SEATs, stay tuned.

New Jersey 2018 Spring Wildfire Season: April 16th snippets

I want to start by sharing a photo of T-61 (Downstown Aero) on contract with the New Jersey Forest Fire Service for the next month, you may go to this Downstown Aero Facebook post to see a nice photo of T-61, an Air Tractor 602. I have had the pleasure of meeting T-61 up close in personal in prior years both while she was on contract with the NJFFS and while she was spraying the cranberry bogs. Then I met her in northern New Jersey while she was seeding a couple of years ago. A truly magnificent aircraft flown be great pilots who love her.

From the NJFFS Section A3 District Wardens Association sharing some photos of the Frelinghuysen Fire in Warren County NJ on April 13th on this Facebook post on their Facebook Page. Nice job Section A3 wildland firefighters and mutual aid firefighters!

On April 14, 2018 NJFFS Section B10 reported on a 28-acre wildfire in Browns Mills near Whitesbog Village in the NJ Pine Barrens.  Thanks and nice job Section B6 wildland firefighters and any mutual aid firefighters who may have helped you out.

How SEATs are dispatched in NJ

Ed Carter, Chief Pilot of Downstown Aero Crop Services, talked to the Press of Atlantic City about how SEATs are dispatched to wildfires in New Jersey. Ed is located in southern New Jersey (NJ Forest Fire Service Division C). The embed code that I was using may not be compatible with changes Blogger is making as they move blogs to https. So, I have removed the embed code, but you may go this direct link to video from the Press of Atlantic City to watch the video.

What he describes applies across the State of New Jersey, and applies to helicopters and SEATs.

Updated on May 2, 2016 at 3:20 PM

Aerial Applications in Central NJ - seeding winter cover crop (2 of 2)

I conclude this short series (See articles I posted on September 22 and September 24 about aerial applications of winter cover crop seeds in Central NJ.

Please spend some time to look at this great slide show of seeding operations from NJ dot com (9/18/14). Allow a few minutes to view the 44 photos in the slide show.

Residents near the farms that were seeded were notified prior to the seeding operations which began the afternoon of September 16 and were completed on September 18. See this September 18th article from the Hunterdon Democrat for more information.

Christian Bench, a Soil Conservation Technician with the  US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service in Pittstown NJ provides some additional information about the seeding operation. He gave me more information about the benefits of cover cropping:

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.

Bench speaks to the advantages of using aircraft to disperse the winter seed cover over no-till drilling methods:

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.

I asked Bench if similar seeding operations, including the use of aircraft, are happening in other parts of the United States. He says:

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)

Aerial Applications in Central NJ - seeding winter cover crop (1 of 2)

A couple of days ago I wrote about watching Downstown Aero Crop Service doing loading operations for seeding applications on nearby farms. I begin today by introducing the seeding program with part 2 coming on September 26th where Christian Bench Christian Bench, a Soil Conservation Technician with the  US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service in Pittstown NJ provides more information about last week's seeding operations.

This was the first of a three year program, last done in this area some thirty years ago, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Farmers participating in the program will have a four-species cover crop applied by a Downstown Air Tractor 602 each September for three years. This is year one, aerial seeding operations occurred from late in the day on September 16th through the afternoon of September 18th. Farmers will receive monetary compensation (on a per acre basis) for participating in the program with farmers in the Neshanic and Musconetcong River Basins receiving additional compensation from the North Jersey Resource Conservation and Development Council.

The four species in the winter cover are: clover, tillage radish, triticale, and oats. Among the benefits of this winter cover seeding is providing soil nutrients. In the spring the idea is that nitrogen will be produced. Additional information on this aerial seeding program (including information about the program and a description of each species) may be found in this September 9 article from the Hunterdon County Democrat.

close-up of four-species winter seed cover

four-species winter seed cover

Aerial Applications in Central NJ - Preview of things to come

Last week I had the pleasure of going to a nearby airport, Alexandria Field, to watch my friends from Downstown Aero Crop Service with one of their Air Tractor 602's as the loaded the Air Tractor with seed that they were dispersing over select farms in Hunterdon, Somerset, and Warren Counties in New Jersey. I'll be writing more about this operation in my next article on September 24. But I thought I'd provide a preview of things to come by sharing a few photographs with you.

Air Tractor 602 piloted by Edward Carter, Jr just before landing

Loading her hopper with seed

Downstown Aero's Turbo-Cat in action

Downstown Aero has a couple of videos on youtube of their Turbo-Cat in action. I thought you'd enjoy seeing her.


direct link to video


direct link to video

Videos of Turbo-Cat dropping on wildfires

Thanks to my friends at Downstown Aero Crop Services who wanted me to share these videos with you. They gave me permission to embed their videos of the Turbo-Cat dropping on some fires on April 13. The videos are posted on Downstown's (public) Facebook Page. I wrote about the Lower Bank Fire on April 14. In that same article on April 14 I wrote about wildfire in Salem City where two brush trucks were destroyed with no injuries, I am not certain if the fire in the first video is the same fire that I wrote about.

Here in New Jersey, our SEATs are doing good work, dropping on wildfires in support of the wildland firefighters on the ground. Nice work everyone. Stay safe!

Out of Service Fire, Salem NJ C-10 4/13/14 (posted April 14)

Post by Downstown Aero Crop Service,Inc.

Lower Bank Fire Turbine Cat Drop (posted April 13)

Post by Downstown Aero Crop Service,Inc.

Drop #2 Lower bank B2 (posted April 13)

Post by Downstown Aero Crop Service,Inc.

Air Tractor 602 (NJFFS Charlie 1) dropping

Hopefully I will be back later on this afternoon with more photos from my trip to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Air Attack Base at Aeroflex-Andover. In the meantime, enjoy this short video of Charlie 1 (Air Tractor 602) dropping on a marsh fire in Cape May County on April 27.


direct link to video

A visit to NJFFS Air Attack Base at Aeroflex-Andover-pt 2

Today I am going to share some photos of the G-164-A (Radial) Ag-Cats, Alpha 3 & 4, that were at Aeroflex-Andover when I visited this past Monday. But before I do that I want to show you a photo of the 300-gallon hopper of a G-164-A Ag-Cat and a photo of the 400-gallon hopper of the Turbo-Cat. I don't know about you, but I was wondering about the larger hopper on a plane that used to have a smaller 300-gallon hopper. I learned the answer to that during my visit to Aeroflex-Andover this past Monday from Joe, one of Downstown's pilots. When Joe was showing me the Turbo Cat, one of the first things we talked about was the larger, 400-gallon, hopper on the Turbo Cat. He pointed to the portion of the hopper that is visible on the outside of the plane, pointing to a "bulge" in the larger hopper that is not present in the smaller 300-gallon hopper of the G-164-A Ag-Cat. It seems that the larger, 400-gallon, hopper in the Turbo Cat accounts for this "bulge." I have circled the hopper (in yellow) in each of the photos.

Turbo-Cat, hopper circled in yellow

 G-164-A Ag Cat, hopper circled in yellow

Here are some photos of the two G-164-A Ag Cats.

G-164-A Ag Cat

G-164-A Ag Cat

G-164-A Ag Cat

G-164-A Ag Cat, Turbo-Cat in background

G-164-A Ag Cat

A visit to NJFFS Air Attack Base at Aeroflex-Andover-pt 1

I finally made it to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service Air Attack Base at Aeroflex-Andover  the Air Attack Base for Division A of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service. That is my Division folks. They are really nice people and I had a great time. I spent a couple of hours there on a nice spring day. Oh, by the way, I drove. About an hour one way, not too bad all things considering. 

Before I begin, I want you to meet Orville in the photos below. Orville is the airport cat, and a good mouser. He is a real sweet and friendly cat, coming up to greet me. As you can see, he posed for me. I feel like I made a new friend in Orville.

Orville posing in front of the NJ Forest Fire Service Air Attack Base Office

Orville

Unless something comes up, I'll be posting a few articles based on my trip to the Air Attack Base over the next few posts. Today I'm going to start with some photos of the Turbo-Cat.

There were three Ag-Cats on base today, the Turbo-Cat was not in service as her pilot had the day off. Instead, I got to spend some time with Joe, whom I met last year. In the two photos below, the Turbo-Cat is on the far end.  Joe flew up in one of G-164-A (Radial) Ag-Cats.

Downstown Aero converted one of their G-164-A Ag-Cats to Turbine over the winter. They purchased a conversion kit and a turbine (Pratt & Whitney PT6A-28  680 hp) engine and did the conversion in their shop. Everything from the firewall forward is new. The new fuel tank is slightly bigger, 120 gallons compared with 80 gallons in the G-164-A  Ag-Cats. And the hopper (also new) capacity is 400 gallons. Another nice feature is that there is a bottom loading fuel system. Joe tells me that they can refuel the plane and load water at the same time, saving a little time. The cockpit steam gauges have been replaced with a glass cockpit. There is a new drop spray boom system coupled to the new Ag Nav GPS. The plane has been repainted inside and out with.

Ag-Cats at the NJFFS Division A Air Attack Base, Turbo-Cat on far end

Ag-Cats at the NJFFS Division A Air Attack Base, Turbo-Cat on far end

Turbo-Cat

Turbo-Cat

Turbo-Cat

Turbo-Cat

Turbo-Cat

Turbo-Cat

Turbo-Cat

Fuel loading (labeled with Jet A fuel) and water loading at bottom of Turbo-Cat

Flight to NJFFS base at Aeroflex-Andover

Andover-Aeroflex, Ag-Cats (2) at far end of hanger

Andover-Aeroflex, Ag-Cats (2) at far end of hanger

Andover-Aeroflex, Ag-Cats (2) at left end of hanger

I had a great scenic flight this morning with a great pilot. The destination was the SEAT base for New Jersey Forest Fire Service Division A at Andover-Aeroflex, who knew we were coming. 

It was a bit windy, winds from 110 about 18 knots (+/-) about 20 minutes before we took off. The winds at take-off were not as bad as expected and we had a quick flight to Aeroflex-Andover. 

When we got to Aeroflex-Andover after a flight of about 20 minutes, the pilot announced our approach for landing on runway 3. I saw the wind sock, the winds were blowing across the runway, or in aviation terminology there was a cross wind. 

On the first attempt, the pilot flew a normal pattern, when she turned to base she had overshot the runway because of the winds. She made adjustments on the second attempt (what I believe is referred to as a side-slip) and was lined up for final into runway 3, but the cross-winds were too strong. A related factor is the length of the runway (about 1,900 ft) with a lake at either end of the runway. And the airport is in the mountains in northern NJ in an area known for "squirrely winds." She aborted the landing. 

She flew the pattern at a slightly higher altitude one more time so I could get these pictures. Not great quality, I did the best that I could considering the winds. But I wanted to give you an idea of the layout and where the Ag-Cats are parked.

Literally a couple of minutes after we departed the pattern at Aeroflex-Andover, we heard someone on the radio with a "weather advisory" for winds gusting at 20 knots or more. A 20 knot cross-wind is a significant cross-wind for a Cessna trainer.

I have renewed respect for the winds. I could feel the winds when we were lined up for the final approach blowing across the Cessna trainer. While I felt the winds, I knew that I was in good hands with a good and competent pilot.

I did not get to see Downstown's Ag-Cats up close and personal, that will come on another day. But I had an important experience on this flight. A friend of mine told me that the only mandatory part of a flight is landing, that the rest is voluntary. and the pilot did that. She landed safely. And I get to share about this experience with you.

Spring wildfire season in NJ: updates and tidbits

Yes we had yet another day of enhanced fire weather concerns in NJ today. I was busy running around today so I don't know about any major fires in NJ (100 acres+), but will be sure to report back here if I should hear of any later.

To the best of my knowledge, light to moderate initial attack activity in New Jersey continues.

Hampton Gate Fire
I am hearing from my friends at Downstown Aero and the Section B10 (NJFFS) website (current NJ wildfire activity section*) that the Hampton Gate Fire has burned 205 acres and is still at 75 percent containment in a remote and inaccessible area of the Wharton State Forest in Tabernacle NJ. See also this updated thread on the wildland fire hotlist.

Brush Fires in Morris County New Jersey
The brush fires in Morris County New Jersey may be out, as reported by the Star Ledger. Speculation is that a passing freight train may have caused the fire.

Other Smaller Wildland Fires
The  Star Ledger referred to a small wildland fire in the Washington Township Area of Morris County on Sunday.

A 2.5 acre fire in Oakland in northern Bergen County on Monday where at least one of the Ag-Cats assigned to Division A made a drop, see this article from the Daily Record.

This past Sunday, my friends from Downstown Aero told me that the two Ag Cats in Division A (Alpha 3 & 4) had made multiple drops on a fire south of Andover NJ. I saw on the current NJ wildfire activity section* of the Section B10 (NJFFS) website that the location of these drops was in Warren County (Allamuchy) and that the fire was of an undetermined size.

I did manage to spend about 30 minutes listening to online scanner feed from New Jersey Forest Fire Service Division A. I may be wrong but it sounded like one of the Ag Cats (Alpha 4) made a drop on a fire at an unidentified location (at least I could not determine the location.

Downstown Aero Crop Services
And finally, last but by no means least. Read about Downstown Aero, their long service as a tanker contractor and their new Turbo Cat in this article on airtanker dot org.

*The current NJ wildfire activity section of the Section B10 website is updated every few days, so you may see different information from what I reported here when you access the site.

NJ Forest Fire Service 2013 Contract Aircraft Schedule

I am happier than I usually am to see the NJ Forest Fire Service 2013 Contract Aircraft Schedule. As I have driven around my little corner of western New Jersey in the months following Super Storm Sandy, I have seen a lot of fallen trees of all sizes in forested areas near the roads I travel. Many of these fallen trees in forested areas remain where they are after the winds from Super Storm Sandy brought them down. I don't want to forget the wind damage that southern NJ saw from the June 29, 2012 Derecho. I probably can not begin to imagine the tree damage in some of the larger forests in New Jersey.

I have been wondering what the spring fire season will bring to us in New Jersey as we have seen below average snow fall totals over much or all of NJ so far this winter. Some of you might have heard about some pretty substantial snow storms that affected the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S.. I want to speak a little about what our snowfall has been like in New Jersey so far this winter to address possible misconceptions. That is, as far as I know, New Jersey has not seen any one sno storm with the substantial snow accumulations that portions of New England and Long Island have seen (2 to 3 feet+) this winter. Yes, areas of northern New Jersey saw accumulations of 10 to 14 inches during one or two snow storms, but not the 2 or 3 feet that other areas saw. With the possible exception of extreme northern areas of New Jersey, I believe that we have had a below average snow fall so far. As I write this, we are getting another mixed precipitation event in New Jersey. Perhaps 4 to 6 inches of snow up in northern New Jersey with lower amounts in central New Jersey and all rain elsewhere in New Jersey. I am in the 2 to 4 inch forecasted snow band.

Since it is snowing as I write this, it is a little hard to think about fire danger today. Yet we had one day list week with heightened fire danger, and I'm sure that we will get more. All it takes is about ten days (maybe less) of dry weather, the soil will dry out. and we will be ripe for fire danger in northern NJ. In the Pine Barrens and elsewhere in southern NJ, the soil is sandy and can dry out in a far shorter time then up north.

I am very happy that we will have an Ag-Cat here in my corner of NJ (Division A). If I luck out and get to see her, I'll try to get some photos to share here.

Just today, I got notice of the NJ Forest Fire Service's 2013 Contract Aircraft Schedule. I have included the schedule at the end of this article. I want to talk a little about the Ag-Cats. The Ag-Cat marked "400 Ag-Cat" is a turbine Ag-Cat. My friends at Downstown Aero did the turbine conversion over the fall and winter. She carries 400 gallons of water/foam with a 680 hp engine. The piston Ag-Cats carry 300 gallons of water/foam with a 600 hp engine. They have some photos of the conversion on their facebook page (should be publicly available), their photos of the conversion may be found here. Downstown shot a video of her first flight that is also available on their facebook page, go here to see the video.

DIVISION A:

AEROFLEX, (ALPHA-3) 300 AGCAT, MARCH 30 - APRIL 7

AEROFLEX, (ALPHA-2) 400 AGCAT, APRIL 8-29

DIVISION B:

COYLE FIELD,(BRAVO-3) AGCAT 300, APRIL 1- APRIL 7

COYLE FIELD, (BRAVO-1) 602 AIR TRACTOR, APRIL 8- MAY 8

DIVISION C:

DOWNSTOWN, (CHARLIE-3) AGCAT 300, MARCH 29-APRIL 7

DOWNSTOWN (CHARLIE-1) 602 AIR TRACTOR,  APRIL 8-29

DOWNSTOWN, (CHARLIE-2) AGCAT 400, APRIL 30-MAY 12

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: Ag Cats in action

direct link to video

Enjoy this short compilation I did of one of Downstown's Ag Cat applying dry fertilizer on the Pine Island Cranberry Bogs near Chatsworth, NJ.

Next up: A little more about Pine Island Cranberry

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: Air Tractor 602 in action

direct link to video on youtube

This is a compilation of stills and video that I shot last week when I was near Chatsworth NJ watching Downstown's aerial application operations. That day they were applied dry fertilizer to 700 acres of Pine Island Cranberry bogs in three hours using two Ag Cats and an Air Tractor 602.

The video starts out with a couple of stills in the loading area of the air strip near Pine Island followed by a video of the AT-602 taking off. You will then see a series of stills as the Air Tractor completes her take-off roll, lift offs, and then we move to the cranberry bog for the rest of the stills.

The pilot of the Air Tractor did a great job that day, and I got some great shots with my camera and telephoto lens.

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: Loading dry fertilizer

The pictures that I am posting show the steps involved in loading the dry fertilizer into Downstown's Ag Planes. On this day, Oct. 17, 2012, two of Downstown's Ag Cats and one Downstown AT-602 applied dry fertilizer to 700 acres of Pine Island's Cranberry bogs over three hours. Pine Island has approximately 1,400 acres of cranberry bogs near Chatsworth NJ in the NJ Pine Barrens. I'll be writing more about Pine Island in a later post, so stay tuned. Downstown will fertilize the remainder of Pine Island's bogs via aerial application before election day in early November. If things work out, I'll be going down to Chatsworth to see this last aerial application of the season, so stay tuned.

The bags of dry fertilizer are stored in the Dry Area, a building on the Air Strip (Haines Air Strip) that Downstown uses located near the Pine Island cranberry bogs. A forklift takes pallets of fertilizer from the building out to the pad in front of the building. Each bag is lifted by the forklift over the loader bin, where one of the crew opens the bag so the dry fertilizer is dumped into the loader. Finally, the loader is moved into position next to the Ag Plane, in this case the AT-602, where the dry fertilizer is conveyered into the hopper of the Ag Plane.

I did not time the loading operation from start to finish, but I'd say that an Ag Plane is loaded in the matter of a couple of minutes. Bags of dry fertilizer are on the pad ready to go for the next Ag Plane that has to be loaded. The loader is moved back to the pad for its new load of dry fertilizer ready for the next Ag Plane to be loaded.

I need to point out what I am writing about here and in the next few posts involve aerial applications of dry fertilizer. Liquid aerial spraying is very different from the mixing of the materials to the loading to the actual aerial application (aka spraying). Another building on the Air strip known as the "wet area" is used to prepare these liquid materials. Av gas and jet a fuel is also stored in the wet area. I hope to be able to observe liquid aerial applications next year when Downstown applies liquid fungicide to the cranberry bogs.

Bags of fertilizer in dry area

0-0-50 (dry) fertilizer used in this aerial application

Bags of fertilizer on pad waiting to be loaded into loader, forklift on left, loader on right in front of pad

Loader untying bag of fertilizer over bin on loader

Bin on loader filled, waiting to be loaded into AT-602. Building in background is "wet area"used to prepare and load liquids for spraying, note water tanks.  Jet  A Fuel  and Av Gas are stored in the wet area building.

Dry 0-0-50 fertilizer being loaded into AT-602

Dry 0-0-50 fertilizer being loaded into AT-602, Ag Cat on left waiting to be loaded.

AT-602 loaded with 0-0-50 dry fertilizer on take-off roll to apply fertilizer to the cranberry bog

Bye! She'll be back soon for another load

Next up: behind the scenes in aerial applicationsNational Agricultural Aviation Association

Aerial Applications in NJ Cranberry Bogs: part 1

I had a wonderful morning with my friends from Downstown Aero Crop Services observing their operations as they applied fertilizer to cranberry bogs in the NJ Pine Barrens Two Ag Cats and one Air Tractor 602 fertlized 700 acres of cranberry bogs in three hours. I will be writing much more about my trip in future posts. For now, I am offering a preview of things to come by posting a few photos of today's operations. These photos are taken at an air strip not from the cranberry bogs.

I have a lot more pictures that I am just beginning to go through. More will come, I promise.

Each bag of fertilizer weighs 1,600 pounds.

This is the fertilizer that Downstown applied today

Fertilizer on dock outside "dry area" The runway of the air strip is in the background

Air Tractor 602 taxiing for take-off for aerial application run

Air Tractor just after lift-off

Ag Cat taxiing for take-off for aerial application run

Ag Cat just after lift off from air strip

Ag Cat applying fertilizer on cranberry bog in the NJ Pine Barrens

Air Tractor 602 applying fertilizer on cranberry bog in the NJ Pine Barrens