View Single Post
Old 09-02-2018, 03:39 AM   #243
woofa.express
Senior Member
 
woofa.express's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Tocumwal, NSW, Australia
Posts: 1,745
Default Re: tell a Model A related story

Changes to Today’s Working Environment.
Some good and some not so good.
Part 1

In the good old days when paddocks were to be sprayed one used farmers to mark. These people would walk the operational swath width and pilot would fly a straight line between them. Ideally they stood outside the paddock so as both the pilot and they, the markers, did not feel uncomfortable or threatened. One would ask them to walk to the next position before the aeroplane passed overhead. This avoids contact between cranium and wheels plus the marker is not sprayed. We would work into wind that is fresh air and avoid spray drift.
The pilot had a spray pressure gauge and coupled with the experience of spray nozzle selection would know the application rate in gallons per acre. About the late ‘80’s an electronic spray application rate devise became available. Great. Just enter ones speed and swath width and it read rate per acre. What a great advance. Then of course came GPS and farmers marking with flags became redundant. With GPS the electronics knew the ground speed and would vary the flow to maintain the desired application rate. The ground speed does vary according to the head/ tail wind component. Great advance again.
Then came Google maps. Now what happens is the paddock location comes on Google maps and with a computer generated order as well. One no longer chats to the farmer and it has become a lonely and isolated job. These days one can work for a farmer for a long period and never get to meet him. These are just some of the changes and I do miss the old days.
The UHF radio which had become a great aid for communications in the mid '80's became semi redundant with the event of mobile phones. I don’t have a mobile intergraded into my radio system and whilst spraying I turn my radios off. I don’t like distractions. The young ones don’t seem to mind but they are much better pilots than me. They think so anyway.
part 2 tomorrow
__________________
I know many things,
But I don't know everything,
Sometimes I forget things.

And there are times when I have a long memory.

Last edited by woofa.express; 09-02-2018 at 03:48 AM.
woofa.express is offline   Reply With Quote