How to Use a Piper Super Cub as a Crop Duster

Crop dusting is a precise and calibrated flight maneuver.

Crop dusting serves a dual purpose: it helps agriculture and allows pilots the chance to do something most dream of, fly really fast, really low. Crop dusting is a highly precise and choreographed form of flying and one the requires a high degree of training. The FAA has set rules regarding crop dusting that need to be followed when flying these missions. The Piper Super Cub is a fabric-over-frame bush aircraft that makes an ideal airplane for crop dusting when used properly.

Things You'll Need

• PIlot license
• Aviation charts
• Piper Cub equipped with bottom drop crop dusting bin and cockpit controls
• Current Metars, Notams and weather reports
• Updated TFRs
• "Congested Area Flight Plan" filed with local FAA branch or Hawthorne Radio

Instructions

Researching the Flight Area

1. Contact 800-WX-Brief and follow the phone prompts to get current wind, weather and NOTAM reports. NOTAM reports are weather and air condition reports as observed by fellow aviators. Write all this down and base your flight decision based on this information. As a general rule, if the winds at ground level and below 1000 feet are over 20 knots, do not crop dust that day.

2. Go over the aviation chart for the dedicated crop area. Look for towers, topographical and man-made obstructions and for any power lines over the roads and areas for crop dusting. The Super Cub climbs at a rate of Vx 70 and this needs to be taken into consideration when calibrating fields, forests and poles surrounding the area.

3. Make your "Congested Area Flight Plan" and file it with either the local FAA branch or through Hawthorne Radio on the frequency indicated on your aviation chart.

4. The Super Cub has a useful gross weight of 2300 pounds. Calculate the weight of your fuel, crop dusting chemicals, yourself and the crop dusting cargo pod to ensure safe operation of the Super Cub during the flight and operations.

5. Fly the mission according to your filed flight plan. If you need to deviate, keep a radio on the Hawthorne frequency to inform them of any diversion necessary. Keep a sharp eye out for any birds or aircraft during the mission. Announce your intentions over the general radio frequency used for the area and as dictated on the aviation chart.

References

• Rising Up: FAA Sec. 91.313 --- Restricted category civil aircraft: Operating limitations
• Iowa State University: Federal Regulations Applicable to Crop Dusting Activities: Erin Hebold
• CubCrafters: New Aircraft