Two Safety Courses at the Ag Aviation Expo
Flying in the Wire & Obstruction Environment course
Sunday, Nov. 15: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
The Flying in the Wire and Obstruction Environment course will be taught on Sunday, Nov. 15 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. This course is acclaimed by professional aircraft operators worldwide by past attendees at the Ag Aviation Expo. The wire avoidance course will again be taught by aviation safety experts from Utilities/Aviation Specialists Inc., a unique group of aviation safety practitioners who provide safety auditing, specialized training, installation of safety management systems and technical aviation consulting. They provide mission-specific expertise in specialized applications that require skill sets above those found in most routine transport operations. Both fixed-wing and helicopter pilots will benefit from this course. It gives low-altitude aviators the essential skills needed to safely operate an aircraft in wire and obstruction environments. Learn how to identify signs of wires, why ag aviators hit wires they already knew were there, and how to avoid them going forward. In 2024, there were a total of 11 wire strike ag aviation accidents, two of those accidents were fatal.
NAAA will provide box lunches to registered attendees and refreshments throughout the day. Registration will open in July.
Turning an ag plane safely
NAAA General Session: Tuesday, Nov. 17: 9:45 – 11:45 a.m.
Fran de Kock of Battlefords Airspray in Canada will teach the Turning an Ag Airplane Safely Course, which will cover in detail how to safely turn a fixed-wing ag aircraft. The class is intended for all ag pilots, whatever their experience level. It will review the basics of an ag turn, how to properly train to make safe ag turns, and how to make ag turns in different conditions. The risks of a turning accident and how to manage those risks will also be thoroughly covered. The General Session course is included with the base registration; no additional registration is required.
These two courses may very well save your life—don’t miss these important sessions.