To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the agricultural aviation industry, the National Agricultural Aviation Association launched a promotional campaign to highlight the historical significance, continued importance and technological advances that cemented agricultural aviation as a vital cog in the production of a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food, fiber and bioenergy for the benefit of worldwide consumers. This included a broad, nationwide public relations campaign to educate the media, public and policymakers about the industry’s past and its importance to food production in the future by launching the website AgAviation100.com with industry facts, a 100-year timeline and a documentary. NAAA also published a book, covering the comprehensive 100-year history of the industry with detailed illustrations. It also arranged highly publicized public relations events including Ag Day on the Mall with a helicopter used to make aerial applications just a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol; an ag aviation centennial airshow at EAA’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and a centennial event on the official 100th anniversary on Aug. 3 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center that included a donation of the Air Tractor ag aircraft in the likeness of the Disney Planes movies’ character Dusty Crophopper. The aircraft was donated by Texas operator Rusty Lindeman who flew the Dusty likeness airplane at airshows across the U.S. to promote the film in 2013.
