NAAA releases its 2019 Aerial Application Industry Survey of Part 137 operators and pilots. The new survey documents an increase in the number of aerial application operations and agricultural aviation pilots in the U.S. since 2012 and an increase in acres treated compared to the 1960s. Today there 1,560 aerial application businesses treating 127 million acres of cropland or 28% of the commercial cropland in the U.S. There are approximately 2.3 aircraft per agricultural aviation operation, or a total of 3,588 aircraft nationwide. According to the 1962 FAA Publication “Aircraft in Agriculture,” there were 5,075 aircraft in the U.S. (FAA stood for Federal Aviation Agency in 1962). There were 2,077 ag aviation operators in 1962 compared to 1,560 today. In 1962, 64.8 million acres were treated by ag aircraft versus 127 million acres today. The largest ag aircraft in 1962 were the Snow S-2 and the Ag Cat with a maximum hopper capacity (where the applied materials are stored) of about 300 gallons. Today, with turbine equipped aircraft the average sized aircraft can hold over 500 gallons with 600, 700 and 800-gallon hopper-equipped aircraft quite common. Air Tractor, an ag aircraft manufacturer in Olney, Texas, is currently working on FAA certification of an aircraft with a hopper capacity of 1,060 gallons.
