At a Glance
- Program produces 10 graduates yearly, addressing shortage among only 3,400 U.S. aerial applicators.
- Students receive comprehensive training on Air Tractor AT-802 aircraft and chemical application techniques.
- Graduates complete the seven-month program fully prepared for immediate employment in agricultural aviation.
Blue sky, white clouds and a butter-yellow airplane in a physics-defying dive is akin to a daily Van Gogh viewing in the Midsouth. Today’s admirable ag aviators make safe and efficient applications possible for producers throughout the Delta — and they’re trained by seasoned professionals close to home in Cleveland, Miss.
In its third year, the aerial applicator training program at Delta State University strives to turn apprentices into ag pilots within seven months.
The program produces about 10 graduates yearly. With only 3,400 aerial applicators across the United States, Delta State’s program is a heavy hitter in the industry.
“Our program started three years ago and was inspired by Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith,” said instructor Ike Brunetti, the program’s founder. “I was serving on the Mississippi Aerial Applicators Association board some years ago, when she was secretary of agriculture for the state of Mississippi. She asked me then, ‘Why don’t we have a flight school to train our boys in the state?’ That gave Col. Brad MacNealy, the DSU aviation chair, and I a place to start.”
Funding program 1st goal
Starting a flight school hinges on several factors, first and foremost being funding. Planes, simulators, safety gear, insurance and instruction are all costly, especially for a small university like Delta State.
“When I was approached about this program, there was no question whether we should do it or not,” said Mitzi Wood, workforce director of the South Delta Planning and Development District. “I immediately thought, ‘Oh, heck yeah, let’s do it.’ ”
Once Wood identified the program as a must-do opportunity, her efforts to secure funding became a pursuit rather than an inquiry.
“I started going after private funding, state funding, in addition to the federal funds that Sen. Hyde Smith secured. And I’ve gotten apprenticeship money,” she said. “I got this program registered with the Department of Labor as a registered apprenticeship program, which opened the door for funding. It’s just been the best thing.”
After three years of placing graduates with sponsors, funds for the program continue to flow, with aerial application businesses eager to hire new pilots.
In the next calendar year, the school expects to implement a $2 million state-of-the-art simulator, which fewer than 10 teaching programs in the nation have.
“I have people calling me now to give me money for this program, because they see the value in it,” Wood said. “Accelerate Mississippi is a huge partner, funding the Advanced Turbine Training portion of the program. They see the value in return on investment in these young people.”
Ready for anything
When Brunetti conceptualized what the program could be, he wanted to fully prepare young ag pilots for all the challenges facing aerial applicators — from tough flying conditions to quality applications to safe chemical handling.
All attendees enter the program with a private pilots license and at least 100 hours of tail-wheel flight time. Once enrolled in the program, the students enter a formal commercial pilots course at the university, before continuing their training with seasoned aerial applicator instructors.
“The students get their instrument and commercial rating through the university, and then they’re passed on to us,” Brunetti said. “We start our rigorous training program. And that’s what this program is; it’s seven months of hard, dedicated work and commitment.”
Program candidates must pass a proficiency test on the use of traditional flying instruments. This requirement often isn’t needed for aerial applicators but is mandatory in this program.
Brunetti said the knowledge will help pilots in adverse weather more effectively navigate aircraft to safety and add the skills needed for other opportunities such as fire bombing.
Candidates also must show proficiency in flying an Air Tractor AT-802 — one of the largest and heaviest single-engine civilian aircrafts in the U.S.
“We are fortunate to have one of the most knowledgeable instructors in firefighting and row crops as chief flight instructor in the AT-802, George Moore,” Brunetti said.
Also, pilots are trained to handle agricultural chemicals, including droplet testing, where their skills are recorded and refined over the life of the program.
How do instructors know when a student is truly ready to enter the workforce as a licensed aerial ag applicator? It has a little to do with education — passing exams and acing in-flight testing — and a lot to do with the confidence and experience gained over the course of the program.
“It has to do with demeanor,” said Rod Van Namen, chief of ag ops and training at Delta State. “There’s a few questions and a few statements that you can make to somebody, and you can see it’s going to click.
“Some people need a little more work than others. And for some, everything clicks from the light bar, the GPS, the systems, technology, everything just flows really naturally.”
Grads ready for job
Full funding and strict course schedules aren’t the only challenges facing successful ag pilot programs. The true challenge is more abstract — and lies in the hands of seasoned instructors.
“I have people ask me all the time, ‘How can you send them out there, knowing what you know about what they’ll encounter as ag pilots?” Brunetti said. “It’s a difficult job and inherently dangerous. But I know that every individual that graduates our program is truly ready to take on this work. We don’t allow them to move forward otherwise.”
Instructor investment in the program at Delta State is the leading factor in student success. During the current class’s graduation in May, Brunetti tearfully commended each student on their growth throughout the program, and handed them a new pilot’s helmet and a St. Christopher’s medal to keep them safe in the years to come.
“What sets the Delta State program apart is not just that these students and potential ag pilots can come in and get state-of-the-art training at a fraction of the cost because of the funding we have had allocated to us,” Van Namen said. “But also that we’re using real-life ag pilots as the instructors. We aren’t just teaching them how to fly, but how to navigate the industry as well.”