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!