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Guest Editorial

If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.  ~Betty Reese


Here's an interesting article on Crop Dusting and Aerial Application

Some highlights within the article:

"Without pesticide use, the world's food supply would be reduced by 40 to 50 percent,

resulting in an increase in food prices estimated at more than 50 percent ..."

"As the demand for meat rises, the demand for grain and protein foods rises as well.

It takes eight pounds of grain to make one pound of beef."

Might be a good information handout!


Future Ag Pilots


Our latest enhancement to the Aerial Application industry...

This 2011 season we did a number of pressure gauge installs under the GPS lightbar.

One gauge monitors pump pressure, the other boom pressure.

As the pictures show, in some installs we just mount pump pressure gauge.

Spray pump pressure

 

 

Pilots are telling us this ability to monitor differential pressure at the lightbar has
made a tremendous difference to the operation of the spray system
and their flow control.

This eliminates flow valve hunting and flow valve slamming.

This saves the pump, valve and fan from being overtaxed - which means less maintenance
over time and longer life. This is particularly kind to the electric brake too!

An added bonus, the pilot can now tell if his spray pump is working on those long ferries.

It really has been amazing to hear pilots say they had no idea they were delivering 70-100
pounds to their pump and their flow valve.  All they knew previously - if they had a boom pressure

gauge mounted - was their pressure at the boom.  Now they open up to just over the pressure

needed to achieve their target volume.

Pressure guages are very affordable and yes we carry them in stock.

Now this, is managing pressure.....


Phone Allan and speak to him about this installation.


Responses to our Free Maintenance Presentation delivered to New Ag Air Industry Entrants at the CAAA . . .

Hey Cheryl how are you?  I think the seminar you guys put on was very good both in presentation and information (although some didn't pertain to me, helicopter pilot) and i also thought you guys answered the questions that were presented very well. 

Chase

 

Hi Cheryl

I attended the short little section Allan put on for a couple guys moving into radials and the depth he explained the content in was appreciated. Even Justin commented to me how we had been doing some things wrong while pressure washing. I know time is a huge factor for you but it would be nice to see such a level of depth on all topics. More from Clairon would also have been nice. I have no idea how you guys will be able to fit everything in. This course is appreciated Allan, Neil and the rest of your staff are more than qualified and were all valuable for this course. I think you guys did a great job and this type of course is needed thanks for putting it on. Say hi to everyone in the shop for me. I'm looking forward to the upcoming season and working with you guys.  

Nathan Goertzen

 

Hi Cheryl, I really enjoyed the presentation you guys did it was very well done and very professional. I was expecting just a few pointers and general discussion from a AME point of view. It was well beyond what I expected. I just finished my first year of spraying in an ag truck, I faced alot of the challenges you guys had discribed in your presentation, ex broken spray lever, hydraulic pump failures, (not fun to change by the way), etc and I think I can improve my suckback on shutoff after attending your presentation. I also have a greater knowledge on the round engine and know what early detection signs to watch for, if advancing to a radial this year. I liked the class, u had old parts to display and reference, good slide pictures to see. I think there's alot of value in attending. I wish I seen it before I started spraying, definetly worth credits it should be.

As for improvement comments I find myself stratching my head, keep doing what you two are doing your on the right track, I like that it was catered to beginners and the planes that we'll most likely be working with. Thanks again, Stephan Gamache

 

Thanks again for allowing me attend your course.  I could see it as a very large benefit to someone brand new in the industry.

Too bad you didn’t have more time.  You could have turned it into a whole day affair with questions, and not run out of subject matter. 

The pilot section was a great touch.  I agree that too bad we didn’t have more time to spend with Clarion however it was a good introduction to allow us to talk to him later in the show… a suggestion maybe if you have more time for that section you could find a few wise pilots for us to fire questions at.  Then there are a few different opinions and experiences.  Also then us new guys can meet a few more people in a small environment before setting us free in a jumble of new faces. 

Finally I’d like to compliment everyone in your organization.  Everyone I talked to was Polite, Courteous, Knowledgeable and friendly. 

Keep up the good work.  - Charlene

Hello Cheryl . I thought your session was well done and worthwhile . Our industry is becoming so turbine centred, it was a  valuable exercise to gather new pilots and focus on common maintenance issues affecting entry level machines. Particularly during your spray system and calibration section, I was impressed by the level of knowledge the young fellows in the room possessed. My only suggestion  would be to lengthen the  session to allow more questions and time to interact with your guest pilot,( inspired choice this year by the way ). Hope you and Al decide to make this an annual event . Cheers  Mark Kinniburgh

 

I attended the course by Yorkton Aircraft for new pilots.  I am not a new pilot, but the information that I received from Allan on the operation & maintenance of the 1340 was invaluable. I also wanted to mention that by bringing the new up and coming pilots together this created a safe environment for them to ask questions without the pressure of a large audience. I witnessed these young fellows interacting with each other, during this whole time Allan facilitated the group discussion and did a great job.

 

I wanted to pass along my thanks to both you and Allan for this excellent training opportunity- Todd Lewis

The Maintenance Presentation that Yorkton Aircraft Service provided at the CAAA convention in Regina was invaluable, by having said that I am saying that the sharing of maintenance knowledge and common troubles that arise in the spray season and how to avoid them in particular, as an owner operator I found it to be invaluable. Time is money and you don't make money when your grounded or hurt by poor maintenance, most of this is due to a lack of knowledge  by the pilot or owner. I am an owner operator and would like to be the first to sign up for next years program, I hope it is even more in depth by Yorktons Team. - Travis Karle

Thanks Cheryl and Alan…I think it was a very well done up seminar." What to look for” in each make and model was very good…..and perhaps for next time when you find out who is attending, then find out what they are flying too…just to be sure that a little is covered on each make, such as the job you did on my common wagon. It was good to know what to look for from the AME’s point of view as they are the ones to see the machine failures and very often it is just not looked at enough by the guys pushing them up and down the runways, But now I know where to look at the weak points ……….. I wonder if there is anything that can be compiled in a short picture book…just like your slides for each plane type of its weaknesses, so on a windy day down time or even every morning a more intense check can be performed above the normal walk around check list

 

  Thanks again -   John W. Berthaudin

The presentation was great. The reason I wanted to attend was because I know you guys are the best in the business and I took in some great info about my prop on my ag-cat. Thanks Allan and Cheryl. - Brad Matthiessen

Thanks to you and your staff  for having this session.  All the responses I got were very good and a lot of interest in the topics presented.  It is wonderful to have people in our industry helping tutor the new pilots. - Jeff Farr

 


Lowering the Volume, Improving Coverage & Efficiency

Alan McCracken Update, September 2009:

Cheryl got in touch with Alan in late September to see if there is any news available on the low volume trials he did with BASF this summer.  He had just returned from from 4 weeks in South America where he was preparing for their upcoming season.  Back in the USA, he will now begin preparing reports on his USA trials from this past summer. I'll keep reminding him to give me some info over the fall months.  Stay tuned.

Here are a couple of great links on the BASF work done in 2008 on low volume applications:

BASF research helps aerial applicators ensure coverage and efficiency

BASF: low-volume Headline applications

Thank you to Alan McCracken for keeping us current on these trials. 

We will hear more from him as work on the 1 gpa trials continue.

Alan McCracken attended the SAAA in November 2008 to deliver a credit session on low volume applications.  We first met Alan about  5-years ago in Reno.  We published a number of his articles, see two of them here, scroll down to see the others.

Rotary Atomizer Strengths & Weaknesses, click here.

Glysophate at less than 1 Gallon Per Acre - Proven!
Read this exciting article by our friend Alan McCracken, click here.

Allan McCracken has been writing for Yorkton Aircraft for some time. 
Here are some of his Articles

Managing Drift -
In this article Alan challenges us to review our drift management decisions, click here.

Calibration of Aircraft and Application Systems,
click here

Controlled Droplet Application, click here

Low Volume, Greater Efficiency, click here


Lighten Up a Little!

Wooden Leg Insurance 

Always did find the Saskatchewan Logic far superior to most others!!!


A man and his wife, were checking on insurance.
The husband had a wooden leg and to insure it in Alberta was $2000.00 a year!
When they arrived in Saskatchewan, they went to an insurance agency, to see how much it would cost to insure.
The agent looked it up on the computer and said to the couple, '$39.00.'
e husband was shocked and asked why it was so cheap here in Saskatchewan to insure, because it cost him $2000.00 in Alberta!
The agent turned his computer screen to the couple and said, 'Well, here it is on the screen, it says:   

*Any wooden structure, with a sprinkler system over it, is $39.00."

Define yourself by how you make a difference, not by what you sell   Donald Cooper

Most businesses make the mistake of defining themselves by what they sell...and their focus is on
their need to sell more of it. But when you shift your thinking and define yourself by how you make
a difference in your customers' lives, you start to build powerful emotional connections that create
customer "ownership".  click here for more



The painfully high cost of cutting your price!      Donald Cooper

Some of the most important numbers to understand in your business are those relating to the
devastating impact on your bottom line of cutting your price. Many businesses, including some
very large ones, don’t have a handle on this
click here for more
 

Needing Death to Prove a Point, or Do They?

Once again I bring you an article written by Will Verboven, contributing columnist of Western Standard magazine.  In this article he points out that no one has died from eating Genetically Modified Foods and this has left environmentalists and lobby groups exasperated.  BUT the Europeans continue to battle the myth.  To read more, click here....

 

Debunking the Pesticide Myth

Editor of Alberta Beef Magazine, Will Verboven, has written a very interesting article on pesticides. Titled "One pest we can't get rid of...Environmental Lobby Groups are still misleading consumers about the health risks of pesticides" the article explains recent analysis of data collected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency showed that pesticide residues are at their lowest level ever. The data shows that more than 99 percent of fresh fruits, vegetables and other food products were found to be within Health Canada's maximum residue limits. It also found that 80 percent of fresh foods had no detectable amounts of pesticide; processed foods were at 90 percent!

Mr. Verboven points out "you'd have to eat hundreds of pounds of a vegetable every day for a year to get a lethal dose of pesticide."

The article is very well written and very direct. We have received permission to reprint this article by the publisher. Click here for a copy. We encourage you to use it whenever and wherever.


 
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