How much do crop duster pilots get paid?
Crop-dusters spread fertilizer, insecticides, fungicides and weed killers. Some farmers even seed from the air. Skilled agricultural, or “ag,” pilots typically make from $60,000 to $100,000 a year, and those who own spraying businesses can earn much more.
How much does a agricultural pilot make?
$50,000 to $70,000 should do it. Ag flying sounds like a great job? There is not much glamour in Ag Flying. Most operations are in remote farming regions, The hours can be long and irregular and are not compatible with a social life.
What is the life expectancy of a crop duster pilot?
The average pilot is about 60 years old, and more than three-fourths of operators have 16 to 70 years of experience, according to a survey by the Environmental Protection Agency.
How much do crop dusters charge?
On average, officials said crop dusting costs between $15 to $25 per acre. Spraying corn fungicide, for example, is on the top end of the scale.
How much do crop dusters make a year?
The salaries of Aerial Crop Dusters in the US range from $34,800 to $147,890 , with a median salary of $76,150 . The middle 50% of Aerial Crop Dusters makes $76,150, with the top 83% making $147,890.
Are ag pilots in demand?
Ag pilots are in high demand. Thanks to the recent farming boom, aerial application is a hot field. This is in sharp contrast to the majority of other aviation fields; most aircraft makers are in a slump, while leading aerial application manufacturer Air Tractor Inc.
How many acres can a crop duster cover in an hour?
Farmers found that aircraft could spray 60 to 70 acres an hour compared with 100 acres a day for a tractor-drawn ground sprayer. The airplanes used by farmers ranged from heavy World War II bombers to light, personal aircraft. Most of these airplanes had to be adapted for agricultural use by the individual operator.
Is crop dusting a good job?
Crop dusting is a booming flying niche. Many of the current crop dusters are old timers that are nearing retirement. This leaves a huge opportunity for a new generation of crop dusters to take over one of flyings most dangerous professions. To be a successful crop duster, it takes time.
Why do crop dusters fly so low?
Over congested areas crop duster planes cannot fly below 1000 feet. Over rural land, they may operate at a minimum of 500 feet. While spraying crops, pilots have to do their best to reduce drift of the chemicals, which means flying as low as possible.
How much does an agricultural pilot or crop duster make?
How do Agricultural Pilot or Crop Duster salaries stack up to other jobs across the country? Based on the latest jobs data nationwide, Agricultural Pilot or Crop Duster’s can make an average annual salary of $84,510, or — per hour.
How many people work in the crop dusting industry?
Crop dusters, also known as agricultural pilots or ag pilots, are pilots who fly small planes at low altitudes to spray fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides on fields of crops via aerial application. Nearly 25,000 people work in this industry at 3,000 operations using 9,000 aircraft that cover 180,000,000 acres of farmland.
Why are crop dusting pilots called AG pilots?
The pilots are called Ag pilots for a job that they refer to as aerial application too. As the social farms and large corporate farms become the order of the day, there are more takers for crop dusting as the services of a crop duster can be availed by many for just a single day and the task load is taken off them.
What are the duties of an agricultural Duster?
Being an Agricultural crop duster or Pilot duster involves the following duties Flying over contractor’s farmlands and spaying pesticides and fertilisers. At times, could also be contracted to douse forest fires with water and carbon dioxide fumes.