May 16, 2

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Happy Memorial Day: In remembrance of our country’s patriots who gave the ultimate sacrifice

NAAA Advocates for Aerial Application Industry Before Public, Media, Key Regulators and Legislators at Ag on the Mall

NAAA successfully met with policymakers and regulators at Ag on the Mall this week on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) organized the event, “The Future of Food & Farming,” which celebrated America’s equipment manufacturers, farmers, ranchers, and farm service providers like aerial applicators and how we all work together to produce more with less environmental impact. 

NAAA representatives made the most of the three-day event, which began on Monday and continued through Wednesday. They spoke with federal policymakers, regulators, media members, and everyday citizens who stopped to check out a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter on display thanks to Allen Chorman & Sons, Inc. in Milton, Delaware.

Along with NAAA, AEM sent pre-event media advisories to local and national agricultural media outlets, many congressional offices, and regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Moore, with NAAA President Ray Newcomb and NAAA Secretary Joel Meyer, addressed several groups of EPA staffers and agency leaders, including Rod Snyder, EPA’s Senior Agriculture Advisor to the Administrator; Ed Messina, Director of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs; Jake Li, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention; Venus Welch-White, EPA’s Senior Advisor for Agriculture and Bruno Pigott, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator’s Office of Water.

“Attending Ag on the Mall was an important service on behalf of NAAA and our nation’s aerial applicators because many people are not always sufficiently or accurately informed about the industry and our crucial importance to food, fiber and bioenergy production. The event allowed us to discuss important agriculture and aviation policies affecting our industry with multiple congressional leaders and regulatory agency staff,” stated NAAA President Ray Newcomb.

NAAA also educated various congressional leaders about the importance of aerial application, including Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Congressman John Rose (R-TN).

Ag on the Mall was also a favorable event for NAAA leadership to meet with other association leaders, including Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Alexandra Dunn, the new President and CEO of CropLife America and Daren Coppock, President & CEO of the Agricultural Retailers Association.

A mix of curiosity and bona fide interest attracted too many passersby to count, but having a Bell Jet Ranger helicopter from Allen Chorman & Sons in Milton, DE, on display with spray booms was enough to get scores of onlookers passing by to ask questions and take pictures by the helicopter. Again, thank you to Jeff Chorman, of Allen Chorman & Sons, Inc., his staff, and Glenn Martin of Helicopter Applicators Inc. in Gettysburg, PA, for supplying the truck and trailer for transporting and exhibiting the helicopter.

NAAA enjoyed spending three very productive days taking advantage of the opportunity to educate policymakers and the public about the importance of agricultural aviation. 

President Newcomb and Secretary Meyer were outstanding spokespersons in interactions with the media and policymakers. They were also extremely welcoming to anybody who stopped to check out the helicopter display, including more than one hundred interested children and school groups who toured the event.

Thank you to the Association of Equipment Manufacturers who organized this fantastic event.

  • NAAA Secretary Joel Meyer, NAAA President Ray Newcomb, NAAA CEO Andrew Moore and Guardian’s Matt Beckwith pictured with (FAA) Deputy Administrator Kathryn Thomson.
  • Moore provided Deputy Admin. Thomson with a photo and article showing an ag pilot’s difficulty seeing unmarked towers while flying.
  • NAAA’s Newcomb and Moore pictured with Ed Messina, Director of EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs.
  • Moore pictured with Jake Li, Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention.
  • NAAA leadership spoke to EPA’s Office of Agriculture and Office of Pesticide Programs teams multiple times throughout the event.
  • NAAA’s Meyer, Newcomb and Moore pictured with Alexandra Dunn, President & CEO of CropLife America.
  • NAAA’s Moore, Newcomb and Meyer pictured with Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. 
  • NAAA’s Meyer, Newcomb and Moore pictured with Zippy Duvall, President of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
  • Moore, pictured with Rep. John Rose (R-TN), points out the benefits of aerial applications using a rotorcraft.
  • Future generations of ag pilots loved sitting in the cockpit and learning about aerial application.


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Agricultural Airman Guidelines Now Available! – A Wealth of Information for Part 137 Knowledge & Skills

NAAA and NAAREF are proud to announce the general availability of the Agricultural Airman Guidelines (AAG).

This new resource serves a dual purpose:

  1. To assist operators, supervisors, pilots and FAA personnel when preparing for, or administering, a 14 CFR §137.19(e) Knowledge and Skills Test, and
  2. To serve as consistent safety education and training guidance for agricultural aviation operators and pilots whether it be for an initial evaluation of their knowledge and skills or a training review.

For over six years, veteran ag pilots throughout the US have come together to create, deliberate upon and refine the AAG. Review and vetting have been provided by attorneys and stakeholders from state pesticide lead agencies, ag aircraft manufacturers and FAA.

The AAG is intentionally crafted in the framework of the Airman Certification Standards (ACS) and, similarly, provides a basis for attaining and maintaining the knowledge, ability to manage risks and skills consistent with acting as Pilot in Command conducting agricultural aircraft operations.

The AAG consists of 12 Areas of Operation arranged in a logical sequence, beginning with Preflight Preparation and ending with Postflight Procedures. Each Area of Operation includes applicable Tasks – 71 in all – which begin with an Objective stating what the applicant should know, consider, and/or do. This is supported with helpful references to applicable regulations, FAA guidance, handbooks and other industry resources. The Task then lists the aeronautical knowledge, risk management, and skill elements relevant to the specific Task, along with the conditions and standards for acceptable performance.

The release of the AAG also marks the beginning of an exciting new endeavor at NAAA. Using the Tasks outlined in the AAG as direction, along with other criteria on aviation safety, operations security and environmental professionalism, the association is working to create a catalog of self-paced online courses to augment current educational opportunities for ag pilots – all offered at no cost to NAAA members.

NAAA encourages all pilots and operators to check out the AAG and consider how it may be used to enhance ongoing training in your operation.
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NAAA Sends Press Release to Aviation Media Regarding Fire Boss in May 11 Washington DC Flyover Event

Yesterday, NAAA sent a press release to more than 70 aviation media contacts regarding a Wipaire Fire Boss’ participation in a flyover event on May 11 in Washington, DC. The National Celebration of General Aviation DC Flyover is being organized by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and will feature nearly 60 general aviation aircraft, including a Fire Boss, which is a single-engine Air Tractor 802F equipped with Wipaire’s amphibious floats to scoop water from nearby water sources for aerial firefighting. Air Tractor, who is celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.

The National Celebration of General Aviation DC Flyover aircraft will represent the roles and eras of general aviation aircraft since 1939 and will commemorate the first proclamation of Aviation Day by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the creation of AOPA 85 years ago. Visitors and residents of Washington D.C. will have a great view of the flight from the National Mall area, and the event will be streamed live on AOPA’s YouTube channel with AOPA Live anchor Tom Haines and veteran aviation journalist Miles O’Brien providing commentary starting at 11:45 a.m. EDT.  

The Fire Boss can drop up to 14,000 gallons per hour and perform continuous scoops and drops on fires for multiple hours. Most AT-802 aircraft are flown in agricultural or aerial firefighting roles, but many are operated in other special-use roles such as hauling fuel to remote areas, oil spill cleanup, drug eradication, and military surveillance platforms.  

The aerial application industry, which treats over 127 million acres of cropland a year—nearly one-third of the nation’s total—will be highlighted in the celebration. A number of aerial application businesses treat crops and provide firefighting services. The speed of aircraft and their ability to reach areas impenetrable by ground have made them crucial to crop production and fire prevention for 103 years.

In 22 different flights, the aircraft will follow the Potomac River to downtown Washington, where they will fly over the National Mall before heading down Independence Ave. Aircraft will fly through airspace that has been closed to anything but military and emergency aircraft since September 11, 2001, and through the ultra-secure P56 airspace, which has been sealed off for decades. The planes range from antiques to the very newest aircraft, including recreational, training, amphibious, and homebuilt, along with military and law enforcement aircraft.
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NAAA CEO Andrew Moore was Interviewed on Agriculture of America Podcast

NAAA’s press release in late April cautioning hobbyist and professional drone operators not to interfere with low-altitude manned agricultural aircraft resulted in additional coverage this week via agriculture and aviation media outlets.  NAAA CEO Andrew Moore was interviewed by Jesse Allen on the Agriculture of America Podcast.

Agriculture of America is a daily program produced by the American Ag Network, a nationwide radio, digital and multimedia ag news network. Listen to Moore in the fourth segment of the episode.  Agriculture of America can be heard nationwide on over 40 radio stations (including SiriusXM Rural Radio Channel 147 on Satellite Radio). The program has nearly 1.5 million listeners per month. 
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2024 NAAA Membership Directory & Annual Report Mails

The 2024 NAAA Membership Directory & Annual Report has been mailed. Most members should receive their copy within the next couple of weeks.

The NAAA Membership Directory & Annual Report is an indispensable asset, and as the title suggests, it is only available to our valued members. At 224 pages, this year’s directory is filled with valuable information. As always, it is loaded with operator and pilot contacts, as well as contact information for the premier suppliers of equipment, parts, and services to the industry.

Other items of interest in the directory include NAAA’s 2023-2024 annual report; Certified-Professional Aerial Applicator Safety Steward (C-PAASS) program information; the NAAA Member Code of Conduct; details about NAAA’s NPDES pesticide general permit compliance resources; checklists for how to respond to a UAS encounter with an ag aircraft or if fired upon while operating an ag aircraft; details on NAAA’s tower safety outreach resources; useful facts about the industry; a comprehensive timeline chronicling the agricultural aviation industry’s 101-plus-year history; and details on various education, training and outreach resources available to members at little to no cost.

The directory includes an NAAA Awards Nomination Form and application information on three NAAA scholarship programs collectively offering $29,000 in scholarship funds this year—the NAAA “Ag Wings of Tomorrow” Scholarship Program, the Charles Stokes Memorial Turbine Training Scholarship Program, and the Support Scholarship Media Contest.

NAAA has gone to great lengths to ensure the accuracy of our membership listings, but we also recognize that perfection is a moving target. If your contact information has changed, you can update it anytime by logging into your member account at www.agaviation.org. Enter your username and password and click on “My Account” and then “Update Profile” to get started. Those changes will sync in real-time with NAAA’s Online Member Directory. 

Thank you for being a member of NAAA and for the work you do to ensure a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food, fiber and bioenergy for the world. It is the continued support of people like you that helps sustain this great industry.
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