Pilot Runs a Crop-Dusting Business

What does it take to run a crop-dusting business? This pilot and aerial-applicator business owner shares her story with FLYING.

Michael Wildes

Friday, November 04, 2022 at 01:58 PM ET

Verified

An Air Tractor 502 using the smoker system. Pilots like Emily Daniel use the smoker to show wind speed and direction, as well as alert other pilots of their positions. [Courtesy: Emily Daniel]

Key Takeaways:

Emily Daniel, a third-generation pilot, co-runs Wings Aerial Applicators, highlighting a family legacy in agricultural aviation and the complex, year-round nature of modern aerial application services, including crop spraying, planting, and mosquito control.
The industry has rebranded from "crop-dusting" to "aerial application," requiring pilots to be highly trained "aerial applicators" with specialized agricultural knowledge, various certifications, and flying skills for precise product delivery.
Becoming an aerial applicator is a demanding career path, requiring a commercial pilot's license, significant graduate training provided by operators, and adherence to rigorous safety standards, often supported by associations like the NAAA.
Despite technological advancements, aerial application remains crucial for agriculture, treating a vast acreage annually, with ongoing efforts to improve safety and efficiency, and potential future opportunities like fire-bombing for experienced pilots.

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Becoming an agricultural pilot wasn’t something Emily Daniel envisioned for herself. As she tells it, she always wanted to be a meteorologist—even today, as she and her husband, Austin, run Wings Aerial Applicators, a crop-dusting business based in New Jersey—so this wasn’t part of the script, or was it?

“Long story short, I’m a third-generation pilot, and my grandfather was actually a crop duster,” Daniel tells FLYING from her office in New Jersey. At the time, she says they’re harvesting cranberries, and she’s waiting for the next available dump truck, so she has an hour to talk. Speaking of her familial history, aviation has always been in her bloodline. In his time, her grandfather used Piper J-3 Cubs and Boeing Stearman biplanes.