The final days...

After a long day Wednesday, Gina, Marcelo and I met with Claudio “Patta” at the location he flies from, “Fazenda Guará”, a large rice and pasture farm. Patta has been flying for Fazenda Guará for 18 years. The farm plants 5,000 ha (12,500 acres) of rice. The farm uses 18 combines for the rice harvest with storage on the farm. Patta flies about 400 hours a year using a single Ipanema. 

Patta is also a director for Sindicato Nacional dos Aeronauticas (SNA). This is a Brazilian general aviation association for pilots. Patta represents ag-pilots. He is working to host an ag-pilot congress in Cachoeira do Sul in August 2012. 

After our visit with Patta, we began the six-hour drive east on BR290 highway to Cachoeira do Sul. There were several instances when traffic presented driving challenges that Marcelo handled very well. It was not uncommon to find yourself head-on with another car on the two-lane highway. Nobody gets upset, unlike the road rage that would be found in the U.S. However, U.S. drivers are much more disciplined and I believe safer; maybe not better drivers, but safer ones. 

One such occasion, after we had avoided a collision, Marcelo mutters to himself in Portuguese, “For one minute in your life, don’t lose your life in one minute.” I asked him to repeat in English and found his comment interesting in that is applies well to ag-aviation. What’s the point of turning the aircraft a few seconds quicker just to save a few minutes in a day, to only die in one of those minutes? 

My week of travel in Brazil has come to a close. It has been a busy and fruitful week. Thursday night, I had dinner with Gina’s family. Friday, Marcelo and Gina drove me the 2.5-hour drive to Porto Alegre to catch my flight to Montevideo where I would connect to Miami, then into Atlanta, about 28 hours of traveling altogether. 

Marcelo Drescher, owner of CIFE and an agronomist professor that teaches technology and the business of agricultural aviation to pilots, business owners and company coordinators and Gina Hickmann, AAU's Brazilian representative.

However, never let down your guard while in Brazil. Upon check-in, I am told my flight is delayed by three hours. In an effort to save money on the airline travel, I had booked two separate flights with two different, non-partner airlines. The savings was significant, over $700. Now, as I write this at the Porto Alegre airport, I find I might miss my connection in Montevideo. The two airlines don’t code share, so the flight back to the States would surely leave without me if the delay is any longer than three hours. Oh well...

Until whenever, 
Keep Turning

A long day and déjà vu

Wednesday was a long day, period. It started with Marcelo and Gina picking me up at the hotel around 8:30a in Cachoeira do Sul. We drove for about 3.5 hours west on BR290 to arrive at Itagro, a Brazilian ag-operation with several late model Ipanemas and a new (100 hours) AT-402B, bought from DP Aviation. I had visited Marcos Antonio and Neusa Camargo, more fondly known as Camargo and Neusa, about 18 months ago for an article. Like then, I was welcomed with a BBQ lunch of lamb that had grazed the runway the day before. 

After spending a couple of hours visiting and admiring Camargo’s new RV10, we continued our travel west for another 1.5 hours to arrive at Uruguiania, Brazil around 5p. After a couple of trips around the block in the city center, we found the offices of Arenhart Aviacão Agricola. After introductions to Nelci Arenhart and his wife, Silvia, Nelci told me of a photo he wanted to show me when we went to the airport hangar 30 km (18 miles) outside of town for the BBQ. After the interview, we checked into the Presidente Hotel, then made the drive to the airport for a BBQ. It was now 10p and the party was just beginning. 

The photo Nelci had referred to was an 8x10 hanging on his wall along with a collection of other photos of his many years flying ag. It wasn’t too hard to recognize three people standing together from a very long time ago; Claudio Patta, myself and Nelci. It was 1995 in Campinos, Brazil when I was attending my first convention and travel to Brazil. 

About the time I took the photo from the wall for a closer look, Patta drove up. Here, 17 years later, are the three of us, together again. Naturally, we had to pose for another photo in the same position, even with me wearing a cap. 

Including Nelci’s operation, there are three flying services in the area; Nelci’s that services local farmers and two more owned by farmers that use the aircraft for just their farms. Patta has flown the last 18 years for Fazenda (farm) Guará and the third, Alberti, an Air Tractor AT-402 pilot who flies for the other farm. Both Patta and Alberti, along with all of Nelci’s pilots and technicians attended the BBQ. However, the pilots having to fly the next day, left about midnight. By the time I returned to the hotel at 2a, I was more than ready to stare at the backside of my eyelids.    

Thursday promises to be another full day starting with a visit with Patta and a long, challenging six-hour drive back to Cachoeira do Sul. If you have never driven on Latin American roads, it would be hard to imagine and even harder for me to describe the “challenges”. It is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Until tomorrow, 
Keep Turning...  

Ag-planes, jets and more churrascarias

Tuesday morning, Eduardo Roche from AgroFly picked up Marcelo, Gina and myself from the San Silverstre Hotel for a 50 km (30 miles) drive from Passo Fundo to Tapajara where one of AgroFly’s airstrips are located. AgroFly was started by the Bee (pronounced “Bay”) family from its seed company. Today, AgroFly operates five Ipanema aircraft and is part of a family of four companies with Bee being the parent company; included are also SupportFly and LogFly. 

SupportFly is a general and ag aviation maintenance company based in Passo Fundo. LogFly is an aviation management company that administers a new Brazilian Phenom 300 jet and a Citation II, along with a twin-engine Vulcanair manufactured in Italy, a G58 Baron, a Cirrus SR22 and Cessna 172 XP Hawk. The administration includes charter, maintenance provisions, scheduling and pilots. 

Members of AgroFly: Carlitos Bee on the left and Eduardo Roche on the right

After lunch, Eduardo arranged for a short VFR flight in the Vulcanair to return us from Passo Fundo to Cachoeira do Sul (CdoSul). Although the South American countries all along the 30th parallel has been experiencing an extreme drought with an almost total loss of corn, except as its value as silage and greater than 50% yield reductions with other crops, the Vulcanair was challenged finding its way back to CdoSul weaving between numerous rain showers. 

Gina has three sons; one is a lawyer, another a dentist and another is in medical school to be a family physician. Last year, while in CdoSul, Gina’s son, Tiago the dentist, gave my teeth a cleaning and check up. Tuesday night, again, Dr. Tiago cleaned my teeth and has offered to whiten “with a drill” (?) tooth number 12 on Thursday night. Tiago’s office is connected Gina’s house, but is very modern and relatively new. I graciously accepted his offer!   

Tuesday evening, after the teeth cleaning, I attended a churrascria at the home of Pelopidas and Roberta Bernardi. Roberta is also a dentist like Tiago, and Pelopidas owns PBA Aviation, which is an Ipanema dealer, as well as used aircraft sales. PBA Aviation sells ag-aircraft throughout the southern half of South America and is very successful. His father is Laudelino Bernardi, who has a flying service with about 10-12 Ipanemas working rice, corn and soybeans in CdoSul. Mr. Bernardi also has an ag-pilot school, Agricola Aviation Santos Dumont. His focus in all his decades of flying has been safety. With the company logging over 5,000 hours a season on average, training and spraying, the company, according to Pelopidas, has never “spilt blood”, meaning no pilot has ever been hurt flying for  Mr. Bernardi. 

The evening ended near midnight. Wednesday promises to be a busy day with a 500 km (300 miles) drive to Uruguaiana, Brazil. This is a large area for ag-aviation, very close to the Uruguayan and Argentine borders. Be sure to check back for the details. 

Ready to depart in a new $9M Phenom 300 (yeah, right!)

Until then, 
Keep Turning

The week begins in Brazil

Monday morning, January 23, started in Cachoeira do Sul (CdoSul) doing some minor banking business. After lunch, AgroFly, a flying service north of CdoSul, sent a pilot to pick me up in a Cessna 182 for the flight to Passo Fundo, about 100 nm north of CdoSul. In Passo Fundo, I met with Dalton Schlichting of the Aeroclube de Carazinho where he operates a CAVAG, an acronym for a certified agricultural aviation school. 

In Brazil, ag-pilots are required to complete an ag rating after they acquire their commercial pilot’s license. The course is very intense with about  30 flight hours and more than 100 ground school hours. The ANAC (the Brazilian FAA) provides a manual that certified schools must follow that spells in detail what each 30 minute flight mission must accomplish. 

Later that afternoon, after a welcome rain shower in the 95°F+ (36°C) temperature, Dalton drove Gina and me to Passo Fundo, about 50 km (30 miles) away. Accompanying us was one of AgAir Update’s Brazilian writers, Marcelo Drescher. Marcelo writes the “Volare” column. He is a certified agronomist and teaches at the Aeroclube de Carazinho, but lives in CdoSul. His English is very good and he helps Gina with the translating. 

After arriving in Passo Fundo, and checking into the San Silvestre Hotel we met with one of the ArgoFly principals, Eduardo Rocha. Eduardo took us to a nice churrascaria (Brazilian barbecue) for dinner. 

Tuesday, January 24 and we are waiting for the day to start. The plan is for Eduardo to pick us up at the hotel and take us to his offices. Once the interview for the article is complete, he will have his pilot fly us back to CdoSul where another Brazilian barbecue is planned at the home of Pelopidas Bernardi, owner of PBA, an ag aircraft dealer for the Ipanema and other used ag aircraft.  

A summertime trip to southern Brazil

Unique to this year, the Louisiana AAA trade show was moved to an earlier week in January. This created a two-week time window that opened up a first-time opportunity for me to travel in Brazil during its summer. The Mississippi AAA convention ended on Thursday and 24 hours later I was starting the additional 24-hour journey to the south of Brazil, Cachoeira do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul State. 

My normal route departs Atlanta, connects in Miami, then on to Sao Paulo with another connection to Porto Alegre. However, when I tried to book a ticket, the price was outlandish. I got creative and booked one flight from Atlanta to Montevideo, Uruguay on American Airlines. Then a completely separate flight on Pluna Airlines from Montevideo to Porto Alegre, Brazil. That saved about $700, but in the process created another whole set of challenges. I’ll save telling those for another day. 

I have two representatives in Brazil, Ernesto Franzen and Gina Hickmann. Ernesto’s real job is a federal policeman and he lives in Porto Alegre. For ten years though, he was an ag-pilot in Brazil. Gina is a school principal, teaches English and lives west of Porto Alegre in Cachoeira do Sul (CdoSul).

Ernesto met me at the Porto Alegre airport. We went to his mother’s apartment to unpack. For dinner, we enjoyed a very nice churrascaria at “Nao Brasil” restaurant. The following day, Ernesto kindly drove me the 2.5 hours of hard driving to CdoSul. Believe me when I say it is good to be riding with a federal policeman on Brazilian roads.

I have traveled to CdoSul numerous times. When you enter the city by car, you pass under a large entrance sign that reads, “The National Capital of Rice” (of course, it is in Portuguese). 

Gina is very good at arranging visits for me. Sometimes these visits are not ag-aviation related, as was my first day and night in CdoSul. By now, it is Sunday afternoon. I left Georgia Friday afternoon. Monday will start a week of visits to operators in southern Brazil. However, not before Gina has her opportunity to entertain me Brazilian-style. 

First, I go to her family’s river cabin for the afternoon. They have a large barbecue and a couple of boats to water ski; not unlike families do in America. Afterwards, I returned to the hotel to freshen up so that I can attend a celebration at a samba school. Samba is a traditional Brazilian dance that is highlighted during the annual Brazilian carnival held in February. This school teaches children in a poor area of town the dance and how to play the drums for the dancing. It is really something to see. This all starts at 10p. Eating and entertainment is always a late night thing in Brazil! 

Tomorrow, I will rent a Cessna 182 and visit an ag-pilot school in a city to the north, Carazinho. Good night! 

Evaluating the 4-blade 510G Thrush

Yesterday, I had the privilege to travel to the Thrush Aircraft factory in Albany, Georgia to attend its employee and customer Thanksgiving appreciation lunch, as well as fly the yet to be certified 510G Thrush. I enjoyed flying the aircraft more than the lunch, however the fresh caught Georgia fried catfish were superb.

I had flown the GE-powered 510-gallon Thrush almost a year ago at AgAir Update’s Open House and Hangar Party. Then, it had the same 3-blade Hartzell propeller as the P&WC PT6A-34 510 Thrush with the exception the GE prop was shot peened. Dennie Stokes also flew it that day and we felt the aircraft did not have the “get up and go” on takeoff for 800 SHP. This time, at the Thrush factory, the 510G had a 4-blade Hartzell propeller. This prop was the fourth generation of propellers fitted to the H80 engine for the Thrush. 

Overall, I was extremely pleased with the performance of the H80 510G Thrush. Flying it with an empty hopper and 228 gallons of fuel on board for the first load, there was no doubt on takeoff the aircraft had “get up and go”. I found the 510G to be about 10 MPH faster than its sister 510P. At 500 feet AGL, 160+ MPH was easy enough to obtain with 90% torque and 1,900 RPM. Full 800 SHP is 100% torque and 2,080 RPMs.

Satisfied with the empty performance of the 510G, I made another load with 350 gallons and I guess about 200 gallons of fuel. The Electronics International MPV-50 instrument gauge (which is the cat’s meow) does not indicate any more than 82 gallons per side, but neither does the old analog fuel indicators, pegging full at about 80 gallons per side.

The true purpose of flying the aircraft with only 350 gallons was to loosen the rust on this ag-pilot’s skills. I can’t remember the last time I flew an ag-plane after running the hopper over on the tarmac. So, I felt it prudent to fly with a piece of a load, just to be sure the “like riding a bicycle, you never forget” saying held true with flying a loaded ag-plane. It did.

For the third load, the fuel level was still somewhere above the indicated 164 gallons and I ran the hopper over onto the tarmac with water. Taxiing out, the aircraft felt like any heavily loaded aircraft with its gross weight somewhere over 10,000 (4,800 empty weight + 1,080 pounds of fuel + 200 pounds of pilot + 4,080 pounds of water = 10,160). The 510G is certified for a maximum gross weight of 10,800 pounds. With water, it would be next to impossible to exceed that limit. Really doesn’t matter, because the aircraft has the ability to carry far more than 10,800 pounds.

Adding power to 100% torque and 2,080 RPMs for takeoff, the tail was up at 1,300 feet and the aircraft was off the ground at about 1,700 feet climbing steadily at 100 MPH. However, there was a reported 7-8 knot headwind and the outside temperature was 74dF. In my opinion, the advantages of the wind and temperature were easily offset by this out-of-practice pilot. No doubt a current Thrush pilot could easily beat my numbers.

I ferried the 510G to the field using 90% torque and 1,900 RPMs. My IAS was 160 MPH, loaded. I used the same power setting for the spray runs and found myself moving across the field at 165-170 MPH. I know the general rule is that airspeed is about 25 MPH faster than the ideal airspeed for spraying, considering the spray pattern. In the case of the 510G, that has been disproved by USDA spray pattern analysis that indicate application speeds up to 180 MPH are acceptable. The pattern may be acceptable, but the pilot better be up to speed too; the trees are coming at you pretty fast.

The fuel flow on the MPV-50 was not calibrated to the GE H80. I know this because it was reading 35 GPH at high power settings. Jody Bays, vice-president of Thrush Aircraft and test pilot, told me I was burning about 80-85 gallons an hour. That’s a lot of fuel, but you are traveling pretty fast. If you can justify the fuel burn, a degree of time can be made up in the ferries. After my 350-gallon load, I believe once the load is worked down, most pilots will reduce the power to about 80% torque and save the fuel.

At Jody’s request, I had previously stalled the aircraft at altitude before approaching a stall in the turns with a load. He was correct in that the aircraft is a gentle giant in that it simply does not do anything unusual in the stalling configuration. I took it to full stall empty, but admit I only approached to a stall (horn blaring, stick slightly mushy) loaded in the turns. Who in their right mind would want to be in a relatively steep turn, loaded and stall the aircraft, not to mention I was low to the ground. There is no reason to fully stall the aircraft loaded and turning; the aircraft gives you plenty of warning beforehand.

I could find zero wrong with the aircraft, except maybe, it needs a bigger hopper. It flies like a dream, not unlike the older, short wing, 400-gallon, rag tail, -34 Thrushes, except it has a 25% larger hopper, double the fuel capacity and will out run the older Thrush like “a scalded dog”. I’m willing to bet the 510G will outrun any Thrush...

Read more about this fabulous (coming from a 20-year Thrush pilot) aircraft in the January edition of AgAir Update.

Until then, Keep Turning...

Bill 

AgAir Update to Equador, Day 2

Today is Wednesday, around noontime, in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Yesterday, I met with Aerovic, whom AgAir Update featured on its cover earlier this year (Thrushes in Equador, AgAir Update May 2011). Captain Jose Cabrera, Aerovic’s Operations Manager, greeted me. It was good to meet the man the article featured, along with the company. Aerovic is one of the larger aerial application companies with a long history in Ecuador. It operates 10 turbine Thrush and treats about 900,000 hectares (2.2 million acres) a year of bananas, along with some rice and sugar cane work. Typical application rates on bananas, at 1.5 to 2.0 gallons per acre are $9 to $12 USD. 

After leaving Captain Cabrera, I was able to meet with Tita, our “contact” lady. She introduced us to her boss, Xavier Pérez-MacCollum, that owns and operates ARICA, a general aviation maintenance and avionics shop, as well as a Robinson Helicopter dealer. Xavier welcomed me, although I had no specific business with him, he was kind enough to allow me to work with Tita. 

That wrapped up the day. Enjoyed an excellent dinner at El Caracol Azul (The Blue Shell), supposedly (according to TripAdvisor) the number two restaurant in Guayaquil. I believe it. Very affordable and excellent food and service. I had the covina (sea bass). Unbelievable. Good sea bass comes from the deep waters of the southern Pacific along the coast line of South America. 

This morning, I visited with LAN Ecuador. This company, also a very large operation, has one AT-402, two turbo Thrush and five turbo Ag-Cats (Mills Conversions from Mid-Continent Aircraft Sales & Service). It treats about 75,000 hectares a month (185,000 acres) during the five busy months of the season and about 40,000 hectares (100,000 acres) a month the other seven months of the year, that comes to about 600,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) a year, plus rice and sugar cane. The bananas spraying makes up about 90% of their applications. 

My hosts were Captain Xavier Moya, Chief of Ag-Operations and Johny Ricardo, Chief of Maintenance. They were very kind to stop their morning’s work and explain to me how the company operated. 

Founded in 1954 by Luis Adolfo Noboa, LAN Ecuador is not affiliated with LAN Chile airlines, or LAN ECU airline, a division of LAN Chile airlines. Oddly enough, when the airline moved into Ecuador, it had to pay LAN Ecuador for using its similar name! 

There’s a really good sushi bar across the street, Noe, where I plan to have a light lunch. With Guayaquil so close to the Pacific Ocean, the seafood found here is excellent. 


So, time to close out this blog. Tomorrow, I return to the United States, take a day of rest and then will be at the Duster Doin’s being held Saturday at Mark Gary’s airstrip in Inverness, Mississippi. I hope to see ya there!