The Aerial Application industry has come a long way in 75 years. Some key moments in our industry’s history are depicted below.
1930s
1930: The Forests Commission, Victoria calls on the RAAF to dust a pine plantation near Ballarat under attack by case moths. Ground application was not possible due to inaccessible terrain. RAAF used a modified DH60 Moth aircraft to dust the plantation with insecticide.
In the years that followed, RAAF and Forests Commission, Victoria, continued a partnership with firebombing experiments and insecticide applications from modified RAAF aircraft.
1940s
1947: First commercial crop dusting near Narribri, NSW. Captain Bruce McKenzie from East-West Airlines, flying a Tiger Moth VH-AFK, dusted a Heliothis-infested linseed crop.
1950s
1956: Leland Snow founds Snow Aeronautical Company
1958: Australian designed CAC CA-28 Ceres agricultural aircraft undertakes first flight at Avalon, VIC
1958: Australian Aerial Agricultural Association formed
1960s
1960: Australian designed Yeoman Cropmaster aircraft undertakes first flight at Bankstown, NSW
1962: Agricultural Pilot Rating introduced
1962: Decision to end the use of Tiger Moth DH82 for agricultural operations in favour of purpose-built agriculture planes making their appearance
1963: First production Pratt & Whitney PT6A turboprop engine certificated
1964: First night spraying undertaken at Auscott Narrabri to protect cotton against insect infestations
1965: Australian designed Transavia PL-12 Airtruk aircraft undertakes first flight at Blacktown, NSW
1966: Victorian Aerial Spraying Control Act takes effect, first State legislation for aerial spraying
1966: First model Ayres Thrush (Snow Commander S-2D) introduced in Australia
1967: Aerial Firefighting becomes an established practice
Late 60s: Onset of utility helicopters with turboshaft engines
1970s
1972: Leland Snow founds Air Tractor
1974: Superphosphate subsidies removed
1977: Operator Ted Blanch developed a smoker system to assess drift when flying and an enclosed mixing system for chemical handling
1977: Air Tractor’s first turbine model (AT-302) introduced
1979: First Air Tractor (AT-301) introduced in Australia
1979: First Ayres Turbo Thrush introduced in Australia
1980s
1983: GPS made available for civilian use
1984: AAAA Operation Spray Safe
1990s
1990: Australian designed Gippsland GA-200 aircraft undertakes first flight at Morwell, VIC
2000s
2000: Inaugural Ray Mackey Award presented to Julian Fraser
2001: Jones Air JARBA Boom developed allowing automatic adjustments to nozzle angles and boom lengths in-flight – minimising drift, maximising efficacy and productivity
2002: Implementation of CASR Part 101, providing certification standards for the commercial use of drones
2003: National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) formed
2008: R&M Aviation receive the first AT-802F Fire Boss to operate in Australia
2009: Australia commissions the world’s first continent-wide ADS-B receiver network
2010s
2011: AAAA launches AIMS program – Aerial Improvement Management System
2011: Leland Snow passes
2012: Charles “Max” Hazelton (Hazelton Air Sevices) inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame
2013: First recorded near-miss between drone conducting aerial work and Ayres S2R-T15 Turbo Thrush conducting aerial application in vicinity of Horsham, VIC
2014: Colin ‘Col’ Pay (Pay’s Air Service) inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame
2015: AAAA renamed to Aerial Application Association of Australia
2017: All aircraft operating under IFR in Australia mandated to be fitted with ADS-B OUT equipment
2020s
2022: Basil Brown (Airfarm Associates and inaugural AAAA president) inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame
2022: The AAAA inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame and awarded the Southern Cross Award to honour the significant contributions to firefighting efforts during the 2019-2020 bush fires which devasted many locations across Australia
The future: What’s next?
