As I write this editorial, the sun is peeping up from the horizon this cool morning overlooking a calm lake. I have about 15 more minutes before its bright rays fill the sky. Although it has been 16 years since I raced the sun to the airport to prepare for the first load of the day, I have not forgotten those 27 years that I did that, filling the plane with fuel, calculating the upcoming loads, thinking about the possibility of fog.
As a rule, I would work the fields closest first and the longer ferries later in the day when it would be hot and bumpy. That way, I did not waste the best flying hours of the day ferrying to the field. It was not unusual for early morning hectares-per-hour sprayed to nearly double those covered midday.
Another reason for working fields closest to the airport first was the unpredictability of fog. I have seen times the sky was clear the first 30 minutes of daylight, then quickly turn into a dense fog. I have had the fog chase me out of a field causing me to point the aircraft back to base at near full throttle all the time thinking of an alternate place to land if the fog closed in around me.
I am not telling you about anything you have not experienced if you have several years of ag-flying. Perhaps there are a few that live in arid areas where fog is not a challenge. Even so, we all know the beauty of the sunrise and the exceptional performance of the aircraft in the early morning hours.
Many of you are just starting your 2016 spray season. You are changing from a winter of hopefully relaxation and pondering about ways to make this season safer and more profitable. If you only repeat yourself from previous years, you have not grown and improved. Therefore, you should not expect anything to be better.
I ask each of you to take a deep breath as you face another season. Think about your family, your business and yourself in a way that will only bring you better results from your efforts. The one element that is prevalent in those thoughts should be safety. It is your best tool to improve your profits and your family life. If you have an accident of any kind, at the very least, it will cost you hard earned profits. Or, it may cost you your life. Think about it.
A sole duck is crossing the lake. Not unlike your ferrying to the field, alone in your cockpit, thinking about the best way to approach the upcoming field you plan to spray. I know the duck is not going to spray anything, but it is making an approach to something. Or, the duck could be simply wandering around the lake. Are you wandering when flying? I doubt it.
I think the sun is going to be a little tardy this morning. With it, I think about how the plane will be able to carry one more full load along with what’s left of the full fuel tanks from the first load of the day in calm, relatively cool air before the sun’s heat turns it into chop. It will be nearly sunset before comfortable flying returns this hot summer day. Then, it starts all over tomorrow.
Until next month, Keep Turning…
