Agricultural Helicopter Spraying Schools

Agricultural helicopter pilots perform dangerous and difficult maneuvers.

Crop spraying from a helicopter is a niche that is growing in popularity and requires advanced skills. Pilots often have to take off and land on the back of a truck and perform dangerous maneuvers while the helicopter is heavily laden with chemicals. They must learn safe handling of the chemicals and how to apply them for maximum effect. Agricultural helicopter pilots performing crop spraying also seed and fertilize from the air.

Bill's Flight School, North Dakota, U.S.A.

Bill's Flight School offers helicopter pilot training for students who wish to fly for pleasure. They also provide a helicopter crop spraying course on their Bell 47 helicopter for pilots holding a commercial helicopter pilot's license. The course consists of 10 hours of ground training, which includes working with hazardous materials and chemicals, and 10 hours of in-flight training, during which students learn to land on a small elevated platform, taking off and hovering when heavily laden and low-level flying while at gross weight.

Eagle Helicopters, New South Wales, Australia

Eagle Helicopters is one of only a few Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approved agricultural training schools in Australia. Before Eagle became a school, it offered services to the agricultural community. Eagle now offers training in chemical spraying for insect pests, disease and weed control, as well as aerial fertilizing and seeding. With an emphasis on safety, Eagle uses U12ET Soloy Hiller and Aerospatiale AS350B Squirrel helicopters.

Enterprise Helicopters, Alabama, USA

Enterprise Helicopters offers helicopter training for agricultural crop dusting and specializes in advanced maneuvers that include hovering techniques, backward takeoffs, landing on a truck, zero airspeed torque turn at maximum gross weight and how to plan a spray pattern. Enterprise specializes in teaching pilots how to land safely after engine failure. Enterprise uses a Bell 47 helicopter.

Airwork Helicopters, Queensland, Australia

Airwork Helicopters offers private pilots license and commercial pilot's license helicopter training and is registered with the Queensland government to provide training to international students. They concentrate on in-flight services and recommend that students complete the theory portion of the courses at an accredited external location. They use Bell 47 helicopters, and their pilots are experienced in crop spraying services.

References

• Bill's Flight School: Helicopter Crop Spraying
• Eagle Helicopters: Agricultural Flying School
• Enterprise Helicopters: Training
• Airwork Helicopters: Training