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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0054.PDF
$0 FLIGHT International, 10 January 1963 Down-to-earth Aviation IN ASM UCH as any given area of operation is usually so restricted. and operating height so low, agricultural aviation by fixed- wing aircraft is probably the most specialized form of aerial work- even more so, perhaps, than air survey. The fact is well emphasized by the accompanying photographs, taken during some of last season's operations of Farm Aviation Ltd, whose HQ are at Wigmore Hall Farm, near Luton, Beds. The company uses three Tiger Moths, variously equipped with ventun- type fertilizer-spreading (i.e., top-dressing) equipment or boom- and-nozzle spray gear for distributing pesticides. The three aircraft arc rotated to equip two teams, each con sisting of fieldsman, loader and pilot. The fieldsman prepares each contract by liaison with the farmer or agent, selects a landing ground and marks out the fields with expendable fluorescent markers. The loader prepares the required quantity of either granular fertilizer or water-based spray chemical for each load, refuels the aircraft and keeps the necessary records. Fertilizer is loaded into the aircraft by means of a portable conveyor and as material for only four or five acres is carried a fast turn-round is essential, which in turn means that the landing strip must be as close to the job as possible. Farm Aviation consider a level 300yd, with low hedges, adequate as a turn-round area; in some circumstances—e.g., where wind and gradient are favourable—a shorter strip may suffice. About 200 acres a day is a fair average for the top-dressing of cereal crops with granular fertilizer under reasonable conditions. On such work the aircraft is usually flown at between 30ft and 40ft in order to obtain satisfactory distribution. Ground speed and drift must be watched carefully, as they affect the distribution of material. Top dressing extends from January to June, when the aircraft are converted for spraying. The same marking technique is employed, but the aircraft now flies at minimum height in order to obtain the best coverage, the wing-tip vortices being particularly useful for directing spray into awkward corners. Speed over the field is usually 60kt, and a good rate of turn is required at the end of each run; power lines are normally flown under. The liquid load is mixed on the ground and pumped into the hopper, which contains sufficient for 15 acres. Up to 350 acres per day is possible. Close co-operation is needed between loader and pilot to ensure that variations in chemical and application rate from job to job are accurately followed. In 1962 Farm Aviation Ltd treated some 16,000 acres in East Anglia, the South Midlands and South-East England. Crops included cereals, peas, beans, potatoes and sugar beet, and work was also done on forestry plantations. The off-season of late autumn and early winter is spent in maintaining and developing equipment for the following year's work, and the company says in this connection that it "hopes to introduce a new aircraft into the agricultural sky in 1963."
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