INTERNATIONAL
HANDS ON FLYING
Tracy Thurman thurmantracyt@gmail.com
Getting Up to Speed
Hangar doors will slide open. Some perhaps for the first time in months.
A 18 | agairupdate.com
Spring hangs up her coat in the doorway of March. She’ll escort old man winter out, don her flowered bonnet, roll up her sleeves and set to work waking up the world while she’s cleaning up winter’s mess. Hangar doors will slide open. Some perhaps for the first time in months. The sun will shine in, lighting up the interior enough to chase out the winter doldrums that gathered in the shadows. It’s time to crank the engines and warm up the oil. It’s time to begin another season of providing close air support in the battle to feed a hungry world. Spring brings excitement and anticipation. It also brings challenges in the form of wind and rain. In most places, we’re applying a lot of herbicides. I think there must be some sort of cosmic joke floating around in the atmosphere that causes the windiest parts of the year to coincide with the need for widespread herbicide applications. Rain is usually welcome; until it’s not. Fields get too muddy to work, runways get swamped and there comes a point where it gets to be miserable. I know many will push into the weather. We’ve all done it and will probably do it again. Right or wrong, that’s the nature of the business. There’s been some who’ve pushed the weather right into a mighty big drift claim. There’s been a few who’ve pushed it into their own memorial service. It’s not my place to say what anyone’s limits ought to be. Let’s just make sure we’re using good judgement and common sense. Sounds simple doesn’t it? So simple yet, so complicated. If there ever was a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” season it would have to be spring. Growers are feeling the crunch of their timetables, so they put the pressure on the aerial application company to get it done no matter what. Most times we get away with it. Sometimes we don’t. It’s those times we don’t, however, that carry the biggest price tag. The guy
you were spraying for won’t give a damn about the drift claim you got and a sad face at a memorial service doesn’t cover the cost of burying one of our own. Keep it in perspective, my friends. You can go from hero to zero in one cycle of the money handle or be reduced to a name carved into a rock when waiting one more day, or even a couple hours might have made the difference between spending the night at home, or in a box. Yes, that’s kind of preachy and not too encouraging, but there are things that have to be said. Sometimes more than once.
It takes a little while to get my back pockets welded to the seat and my bioelectronics synched back with the airplane. Rust builds up quickly in the winter. I know if I haven’t flown in a while, I’m as clumsy as a one legged rooster. It takes a little while to get my back pockets welded to the seat and my bio-electronics synched back with the airplane. I’m always eager to get going, but I know my skill level has dropped over the past months. It doesn’t take long, but it does take a conscious effort to get back up to speed quickly and without scratching any paint. Studying up about the area where you’re working is an important chore at the beginning of the season. Has there been any new wires added? Cell towers? Has there been any susceptible crops planted where there wasn’t last year? There’s probably a dozen or so similar questions to ask and find answers for. You can skip them if you
