Agricultural Pilot Careers

The great thing about careers in aviation as a pilot is there are so many different kinds of jobs. You may at first think of professional flying as being a pilot for an airline — yes, that’s an excellent job. However, there are others: charter pilot, corporate pilot, instructor pilot, military pilot, and agricultural pilot — to name only a few. What? Agricultural pilot? Yes, it’s a great job, and it’s not some old guy flying a bi-plane like in some out-of-date films. You can work for large agricultural companies — or you can be your own boss with your own plane and growers contract for your services. There’s even a trade association in the US, the National Agricultural Aviation Association, which has 1,500 members and promotes education, new technologies and safety for agricultural pilots. As an agricultural pilot you are trained in all aspects of aerial application, safe pesticide use and entomology, as well as how to minimize risk to the environment. Agricultural pilots are trained in loading the chemical properly in the aircraft, understanding the intricacies of the application system and the aircraft — as well as the flight training and certifcations required for such a career position. This is important business: Without pesticide use, the world’s food supply would be reduced by approximately 50% AND the price of our food is estimated to be 50% more. Did you know that crop-dusting planes today have on-board computers and GPS units? Recent technology developments such as GPS provide guidance, prescription mapping and dispersal systems, and aerial imaging. It has become truly a sophisticated business.