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FAA Safety Team Holds Second Part 137 Drone Safety Webinar

On the evening of August 6, 2024, the FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) presented a second Pro Tips for Part 137 UAS Pilots and Operators webinar. This was a follow up webinar to the first Part 137 drone webinar held in June. The speakers once again included both industry drone pilots and FAA representatives. A recording of the webinar can be viewed here.

The FAASTeam webinar began by discussing recent additions in new and amended 44807 exemptions, which include drone swarming, night operations, and operating without a visual observer. This was followed by a review of the expectations for Part 137 drone operators regarding blanket certificates of authorization (COA). Part 137 drone operators were again reminded they are responsible for seeing and avoiding crewed aircraft and how quickly a crewed ag aircraft can enter an area.

A representative for FAA’s Air Traffic Organization talked about the importance of developing a strong safety culture at Part 137 drone operations. This is especially important because many Part 137 drone operators have no prior experience in aviation. He reminded them about their restrictions within the NAS and how far they must remain from airports and helipads. Reporting requirements were also reviewed for webinar participants.
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Richard Packer, Longtime Supporter of the Aerial Application Industry & NAAA, Passes

NAAA is saddened to report the passing of Richard Lee Packer, longtime and devoted NAAA board member and supporter. Richard stemmed from Radnor, Ohio.  He was born in Galion, Ohio. He proudly served his country as a member of the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. On September 11, 1965, he married the love of his life, Linda Sue Schellenberg. Together they shared almost 59 years of marriage.

An aviation professional, known by many simply as “Packer,” the owner of Packer & Associates Inc. Packer was a longtime NAAA Allied Industry member who for years served as the Ohio AAA representative on NAAA’s board from 1998 –2021 and has been recognized and greatly appreciated for his many years of service to the agricultural aviation industry.

Packer received the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award and the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in 2020.

Packer accumulated over 10,000 hours logged in single and multi-engine aircraft, agricultural, turbine, and aerobatic aircraft. He received his airframe and powerplant mechanics certificate with inspection authorization in 1975 and was still an active flight instructor and aircraft inspector. He received his property and casualty insurance license in 1981 and formed Packer & Associates as an independent insurance agency that year.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2024, from 11:00 am – 6:00 pm at Packer Aviation and Airport, 5266 Mooney Road, Radnor, OH 43066.  To share a fond memory of Packer or to offer a condolence to his family, please visit www.snyderfuneralhomes.com.
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Participate in FarmTrak Survey to Protect Your Chemical and Seed Choices

NAAA has partnered with Kynetec, USA (formerly Doane Marketing Research), the oldest, and most reputable provider of agricultural survey research with its FarmTrak study.

Today’s input choices – herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and seeds – are under increasing threat, so it is vital that we demonstrate their importance to help preserve our industry and the world’s food, fuel, and fiber supply. As a data driven third party source, Kynetec’s long-trusted FarmTrak analytics can support NAAA’s efforts to influence government decision makers and ensure your ongoing ability to access these products.     

FarmTrak data is critical to aerial applicators by

  1. Keeping effective products on the market and available for use;
  2. Identifying the need for a variety of product choices and supporting the development of new chemistries; and
  3. Demonstrating the importance of products that are currently at risk of cancellation under the Endangered Species Act.

NAAA urges all growers to participate in the FarmTrak study when Kynetec reaches out. All participants receive a monetary thank you. 

If you are a grower or if growers you know have not already participated in this year’s FarmTrak survey, please have them call 1-800-753-6263 and say, “I want to participate in FarmTrak,” or they can request to be contacted by clicking here or by visiting www.yourkynetec.com/uc/main/31f3/?a=22&b=30.
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2025 NAAA Membership Renewal Now Open

Thank you for your support as a 2024 member of NAAA. We request your continued support by renewing your NAAA membership for 2025 today. While you have been busy aiding farmers to produce a safe, affordable, and abundant supply of food, fiber, and bioenergy, NAAA has been busy making sure low-altitude airspace is safe for your aerial application business to operate, as well as ensuring that you have the pesticide products you need to do your job. Several of NAAA’s accomplishments this year, on your behalf and to ensure your success, include:

  • NAAA will soon be offering health and life insurance options for members. More details will be available this fall.
  • NAAA worked to secure permission from the FAA to use frequency 122.925 for radio communications between agricultural aircraft to operate safely.
  • NAAA lobbied for the FAA Reauthorization Bill to include NAAA language ensuring the safety of manned aircraft from drone activity in BVLOS airspace and language establishing a deadline to the FAA to promulgate tower marking and logging.
  • Since 2017, NAAA has submitted over 300 comments to the EPA to keep aerial applications on pesticide labels with great success enabling you to keep a deep inventory of pesticide tools without unnecessary and burdensome restrictions.
  • NAAA’s 2024 articles appearing in Farm Journal publications, along with the “Aerial Application: Above All Forms of Crop Care” ad campaign and accompanying web search tool identifying member businesses, have been widely circulated to hundreds of thousands of potential aerial application users.
  • NAAA and NAAREF have grown the C-PAASS certification learning center to include online learning for aerial applicators who want to augment their professionalism and be recognized and rewarded by their insurance providers, pesticide manufacturers, regulators, and customers. Learn more at https://education.agaviation.org/.
  • New membership database, allowing for automatic renewal and single invoicing of all memberships at your operation or company. Contact information@agaviation.org for further details.

In 2025, you will continue to receive ongoing benefits such as discounts for attending or exhibiting at the Ag Aviation Expo, connect with members through the print and online NAAA Membership Directory and receive Association publications, eNewsletters, social media briefings and substantive web content at AgAviation.org. Log into your account on our website to pay your 2025 NAAA membership invoice. Details at AgAviation.org/membership.

Please make it a priority to renew your NAAA membership—the payoff far exceeds what you will spend in dues in the form of effective advocacy that reduces regulation and taxes affecting your aerial application business and trade association membership dues are tax deductible.
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NAAA Offering Three Scholarship Programs in 2024; Deadline Approaching Quickly

NAAA, with the support of several Allied members, is offering three scholarship programs in 2024, totaling $29,000 in scholarship funds. Whether you’re a student, an aspiring ag pilot or an ag pilot interested in turbine training, we have scholarship funds for you! Please contact NAAA at information@agaviation.org or (202) 546-5722 for clarification about any of the scholarship program requirements.  

NAAA’s ‘Ag Wings of Tomorrow’ Scholarship

Four $5,000 scholarships are available for aspiring ag aviators who are sponsored by an NAAA Operator. The NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship is back again this year, thanks to the generous support of BASF and Thrush Aircraft. The scholarship program is offering $20,000 in aid to assist four aspiring ag pilots in their journey. All funds are in U.S. dollars.

The goal of NAAA’s “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship Program is to strengthen the aerial application industry by helping operator members bring new pilots into the profession and help fund their training. Applicants must be sponsored by an NAAA Operator member. Scholarship recipients may use the proceeds for flight training or aviation or ag-related coursework at a university, college, community college or other institution of higher learning. A stipend for a trainee in an NAAA Operator-sponsored apprentice program is also permissible. The scholarship program is administered by NAAA and funded by educational grants from BASF and Thrush Aircraft.  

Investing in aspiring ag aviators is a win-win for NAAA Operator members and individuals seeking training funds to support their pursuit of becoming a professional ag pilot. 

How to Apply & Deadline
To be considered for the 2024 scholarship, along with completing the two-part application, every applicant must submit: 

  • A letter of recommendation from the NAAA Operator member sponsoring the applicant.  
  • An essay of 250 words or less explaining why the applicant wants to pursue a career in agricultural aviation and how they would use NAAA’s “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship to further their education and training. 
  • A one-page résumé or list of activities detailing all agricultural and aviation experiences, education and training. 

Applicants must apply using the online application process. The deadline is Aug. 31, 2024. Learn more about the 2024 NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship and review the instructions here. 

While the applicant must be sponsored by an NAAA Operator member, NAAA membership is not a prerequisite for applying for the “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship. Still, becoming an NAAA Associate member is an excellent way for candidates to learn more about the industry and augment their training.  

Restrictions: Applicants can apply for the NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship or the Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship, but not both in the same year.  

NAAA Operator members may only sponsor one NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship applicant a year. They can also sponsor a Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship applicant in the same year, but the applicants can’t be the same person applying for both scholarships in the same year.

Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship

Two $3,000 scholarships are available to eligible NAAA Operator and Pilot members for turbine transition training through the 2024 Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship. The NAAA scholarship program was established in 2023 and has been made possible thanks to a generous educational grant funded by Jim Mills of Turbines Inc., who established the scholarship in memory of Charles Stokes.

The Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship was created to provide training funds to agricultural pilots with a minimum of 150 hours of ag time for use at a turbine transition course or program. The scholarship must be used for turbine flight training at a qualified flight school or turbine training facility. All funds are in U.S. dollars. 

Eligibility. Applicants must: 

  • Have a minimum of 150 hours of ag time. 
  • Be a Pilot, Affiliated Operator or Operator member of NAAA. 
  • Be sponsored by an NAAA Operator member in the Operator dues category who will write a letter of recommendation on their behalf. (Operator applicants may not sponsor themselves; another NAAA Operator member would need to sponsor them.) 

How to Apply & Deadline
Applicants must apply using the online application process. The deadline is Aug. 31, 2024. Further details and a link to the online application is available here. 

Restrictions: Applicants may only apply for one NAAA pilot-training scholarship a year – either the Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship or the NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship, but not both in the same year. 

NAAA Operator members may only sponsor one Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship annually. They can sponsor an NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship applicant in the same year, but the applicants can’t be the same person applying for both scholarships. 

NAAA Support Committee Scholarship

The NAAA Support Committee will award a $2,000 scholarship as top prize, and Covington Aircraft Engines has generously agreed to sponsor a $1,000 scholarship. All funds are in U.S. dollars.

How to Apply & Deadline
Submissions must be an essay of at least 1,500 words or a 5-minute multimedia presentation. Submissions are now online. The deadline is Sept. 15, 2024. Learn more about the Support Committee Scholarship and review the instructions here. 

2024 Essay Topic: What are the biggest obstacles to the ag aviation industry in your area? Discuss how they can be overcome.

The 2024 Support Scholarship Contest is open to any individual sponsored by an NAAA member. The scholarship is not restricted to individuals pursuing a “flying career” and can be used toward any educational pursuit beyond high school (at any age). Previous winners are not eligible to compete. 
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In Case You Missed Last Week’s NAAA eNewsletter

Click here for the August 15, 2024 eNewsletter to read:

  • Cover Crops Press Release Available for Members to Send to Local Media Outlets
  • NAAA Comments on UAS BVLOS Petition from Zipline
  • Heinen Brothers Agra Services in KS is First U.S. Customer of Pyka’s Pelican Spray UAS for Aerial Applications
  • AD Proposed for MD Helicopters 369 and 500 Torque Tube and Roller Bearings
  • Operation S.A.F.E. Analyst Training – October 2024 – Cleveland, MS
  • NAAA & NAAREF Board Meetings Oct. 10-12 in Chattanooga, TN

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