How Does a Crop Duster Spend a Workday?

Maintenance of Crop Dusting Aircraft

A large part of a crop duster's workday is spent ensuring the proper function and maintenance of the small airplane used to perform crop dusting. Most crop dusters use small propeller-driven airplanes, normally one- or two-seaters, that are very basic in their construction and operation. A crop duster will ensure that the aircraft has adequate fuel, that the propeller and engine are in good working order and that all the controls and gauges detailing various airplane functions are functioning properly.

The various chemicals and pesticides used to spray crop fields are the keystone of a crop duster's trade. A crop duster has to keep a constant inventory of the various chemicals that are used, and this involves daily inspection and inventory of said chemicals. Also, there are different chemicals and pesticides used for different crop dusting jobs, and making sure there are adequate supplies of all the different types of chemicals and pesticides is a daily job duty of a crop duster.

Due to the fact that a large part of a crop duster's workday is spent flying in an airplane, a crop duster has to pay special attention to the daily weather forecasts and conditions. Even though a crop duster rarely flies more than a couple of hundred feet off the ground, inclement or quickly changing weather conditions can not only affect the safety of the crop duster, but it can also affect how well the crop dusting chemicals spray through the air and reach their intended target.

A crop duster has to be very efficient and skillful when spraying a crop from an airplane. The chemicals used to dust a crop are very specific to the crops themselves. Overspraying or allowing the chemicals to spray areas not intended to be sprayed might cause harm or damage. A crop duster has to combine his effective piloting skills with his hand-eye coordination to effectively spray a crop. The inner controls inside the airplane that control the release of the crop dusting chemicals have to be released at the right times and in the right locations for maximum effectiveness.