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the time you’d estimated the car’s speed, Crop-dusters fly in echelon formation. “If you ever do anything like that again,”
that driver would have looked out his warned Chuch, standing over a stunned
side window to see a plane coming right Box canyons feature narrow inlets Party Guy, “I will blackball you from ever
at him. He’d slam on the brakes, leaving surrounded by steep, almost vertical flying a government contract ever again.”
you with little time to react. While I never walls which dead-end against a cliff.
hit a car, some drivers may have wound CROP-DUSTING BITES
up needing to clean out the seat of their were all assigned roommates. My room-
vehicle. mate was a brash, bearded young guy By the time I’d flown 3,000 hours I was
from Arizona who wore his gold chains back at the small airport outside Portland
IT GROWS AS IT GOES hanging from an unbuttoned shirt – a going over some real high cross country
real party guy. On our first day flying in wires. During a routine trip over the fields
Crop-dusting brought me to some interest- the mountains, Party Guy came on the I could tell my plane was not generating
ing places. While flying government con- intercom saying, “Hey Roomie, watch enough power. We had a big day coming
tracts in New Mexico, I flew a lot of cattle this,” then proceed take his plane into a up – over 6,000 acres – so I headed back
land. One day I talked to a government loop and slide back into formation. After to the airport to make sure my plane was
biologist and asked him what, exactly, I acknowledged the difficulty of his ma- up to the task. The mechanic worked on
comprised a grasshopper infestation. “Ten neuver, he performed yet another loop, my plane all night and when I came to
grasshoppers per square yard,” he replied. this time covering my windshield with pick it up they said everything was fine.
Landing on a little strip of road, I could spray from his plane. With no windshield I loaded up and got ready to go.
see that, sure enough, within two square wipers to clear my view, I was forced to
yards sat 24 grasshoppers. Surveying finish my flight looking through a hole in Jerry took off and I prepared to follow. As
the damage they’d done to the land, I had the spray four inches around. Back at the I ran up the engine, I noticed a popping,
to wonder: what were the cows eating? airport, Party Guy managed to squeeze sputtering sound, but it quickly smoothed
Grasshoppers? in one final loop over the runway. The out. I checked my gauges, saw that every-
rest of our group watched as he landed thing was in the green and decided to take
Another government contract took me and taxied down the runway, especially off. During takeoff, however, I suddenly
to Lincoln National Forest. Here we our lead pilot, a man named Chuch who felt my aircraft dropping back down onto
found ourselves spraying up the sides of happened to own the plane Party Guy had the runway. Staggering in and out of the
mountains for spruce bud worms, flying been flying. Chuch was about 60 years air, my tailwheel hit the edge of a 20 foot
at elevations of 2,000 – 10,000 feet in old, built like a recon Marine and he was berm located at the end of the runway.
echelon formation. This was no easy feat waiting for Party Guy. As soon as my Flipping end over end, I crashed into the
in our in turbine aircraft, which became roommate had stepped out of the plane, drainage ditch below, landing cockpit-side
less reliable as the elevation increased. Chuch delivered a ferocious uppercut to down. Dazed and disoriented, I stumbled
Additionally, there was usually a park his face, bloodying his mouth and nose. out of the plane, trying to put some dis-
ranger flying above us in a twin-engine tance between me and the aircraft in
aircraft, keeping an eye on where we case it caught on fire. It was only after
sprayed. We flew in formation following the ride in the ambulance that I realized
a lead pilot, who set the speed and tone my Aggie ring had jerked the ring finger
of the flight. One day as we were flying, off of my hand.
I began noticing movements in the lead
pilot’s ailerons and rudder. As I watched, Crop-dusting was a feast or famine oc-
these wing movements began occurring cupation. After my crash I flew another
more and more frequently, with greater 5,000 hours before deciding that it just
force each time. Suddenly, the lead pilot wasn’t stable enough for someone trying
broke through the intercom: “Every man to raise a family. I may have checked out
for himself!” With the lead pilot out of of the career, but it was still the best job
commission, the ranger in the twin-engine I’d ever had. At the ripe old age of 78, I
above us quickly shouted for everyone miss it every day.
to brake right, and not a moment too
soon – a box canyon lay in the opposite
direction. We bought that ranger steaks
for the next two weeks to thank him for
saving our lives.
During the job at Lincoln National Forest,
everyone arrived knowing no one and we
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