Our Pilots
Our Pilots
The pilots are the lifeblood of our entire operation. With well over 100,000 combined hours of agricultural flight time, our pilots are some of the finest in the industry. They come from all over the United States such as Arkansas, California, Idaho and the Midwest to pilot our aircraft. Along with the pilots that occupy our Air Tractors and helicopter seats owned by Meyer Agri-Air, we also contract experienced ag pilots with their own aircraft to complete our crew during the aerial spraying season.
FAQ's about Ag pilots:
- Ag pilots are highly-trained professionals committed to doing their job in a safe, efficient and responsible manner.
- On average, agricultural pilots have more than 25 years of agricultural flying experience and nearly 10,000 hours of agricultural flight time - that's like being up in the air for 14 months straight!
- To perform aerial application, ag pilots need a commercial pilot's certificate and must pass a knowledge and skills test of agricultural aircraft operations. They also need appropriate agricultural aviation insurance coverage.
- Ag pilots need a pesticide applicator license from the states they fly in showing their knowledge in the sage handling and use of pesticides.
- Ag pilots use drift reduction technologies to deliver on-target applications and mitigate drift. Meyer Agri-Air uses a GPS device in each aircraft called a SatLoc G4 to mitigate the risk of off-target applications.
- Ag pilots pattern-test their aircraft with swath analysis at Operation S.A.F.E. Professional Application Analysis Clinics. These clinics test application equipment to ensure the product is applied to the target area with optimal crop coverage, providing the full plant health benefits of the application.