The NATA VOICE - Nebraska Aviation Trades Associationgonata.net/images/voice_january_2018.pdfAgricultural Aviation’s Airfield Watch Since September 11, 2001, the aviation industry

The NATA VOICE JANUARY 2018 Website: http://gonata.net

Nebraska’s Aviation Voice Published by the Nebraska Aviation Trades Association, Judy McDowell, Editor

192 W Lakeshore, Lincoln, NE 68528—Phone/Fax: 402-475-6282, Email: [email protected]

John O’Connell was assigned to Vietnam as an officer in the Army Medical Service Corp and a Medical Evacuation Pilot (Dustoff) in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam during the year of 1969. He was in the 283rd Aircraft Medical Detachment, 6 Aircraft, 12 pilots and related crew members, which included medics, crew chiefs and mechanics. He was an aircraft commander, Dustoff 60, test pilot, chief of maintenance and Instrument Instructor.

John will talk about his experiences in combat, dis-cuss types of missions and the types of aircraft used in support of Dustoff missions. Also, he will talk about Agent Orange, Sea Salt and Fake News.

Nebraska Aviation Trades Association 2 Page 2

NEBRASKA AVIATION TRADES ASSOCIATION

REGISTRATION FORM AND MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION 2018 Annual Convention

February 19-21, 2018 Cornhusker Hotel

Lincoln, NE 402-474-7474

NATA MEMBERSHIP DUES: (Please fill in appropriate amount(s): Lifetime Membership $1,500 $__________ 2018 Voting Membership - (Pt. 137/Owner/Operator/Pilot) - $150 $__________ 2018 Non-Voting Associate Membership (Non-Pilot/Employee) - $75 $__________ 2018 Allied Membership (Supplier/non-voting) - $60 per person $__________

40% of your dues not tax deductible due to lobbyist expenses

CONVENTION REGISTRATION: NATA Member (includes PAASS) $165 Person x _____ people $__________ Preregistration: (Due before January 1, 2018) Afer January 1, 2018 (w/PAASS) $205 Person x _____ people $__________ NATA Spouse $60 Person x _____ people $__________ Non-Member (includes PAASS) $340 per person x _____ people $__________ Tuesday Only (Member) $155 per person x _____ people $__________ (PAASS & Exhibit Hall) Tuesday Only (Non-Member) $315 per person x _____ people $__________ (PAASS & Exhibit Hall) *****YOU MUST ATTEND THE PAASS PROGRAM ON TUESDAY AND RECERTIFICATION ON WEDNESDAY TO BE CERTIFIED*****

CONVENTION MEAL PACKAGE: Two Luncheons. $66 per person x _____people $__________ PAYMENT OPTIONS: Check Amount Enclosed: $______________

Email Form and CC information To [email protected]

The following information will be used as your membership listing in the 2018 NATA Directory

Member Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Spouse Name:______________________________________________________________________ Name of other(s) attending and name for badge____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Business Name:_____________________________________________________________________ Business Address:___________________________________________________________________ City:_________________________ State:________________________________Zip_____________ Business Phone: ( )__________________________ Business Fax: ( )____________________________ E:Mail___________________________ IMPORTANT! Cellular: ( )________________________________

Please make checks payable to NATA and return with completed form to: NATA, 192 W. Lakeshore Drive, Lincoln, NE 68528

Phone/Fax: (402) 475-NATA Email: [email protected] Website: http://gonata.net Refund Policy: No refunds will be made on cancellations received after February 1, 2018

NATA Member (Convention Only) $75.00__________ No Recertification or PAASS After January 1, 2018 $100.00__________

Credit Card (circle) Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express Security Code

Card Number Name on Card________________________________ Expiration__________ Amount ____________ (4% service charge will be added)

PRE- REGISTRATION

DEADLINE DECEMBER 31,

2017


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS NATA 2018 Convention

Monday, February 19 10 a.m. Garrat Board of Directors 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Ballroom Exhibitor Set Up 1 to 4 Lower Level Registration 1:30 to 2:15 Lancaster 123 Wayne Woldt – NU-AIRE

Unmanned Aircraft Research and Education 2:15 to 3 Lancaster 123 Adam Kuenning, Attorney 3 to 6 Ballroom Exhibit Hall Open Coffeebreak Sponsored by Bosselman & FMC 4 to 6 Reception Sponsored by Cornhusker & Meridian Tuesday, February 20 7 a.m. to 12 Lower Level Registration 8 a.m. Lancaster 123 President's Welcome 8:15 PAASS Recertification Session 9 to 2 Arbor 2 Pilot Testing 9:30 Ballroom Coffee break in Exhibit Hall Sponsored by AgriSmart & North Star Aviation 10 a.m. Lancaster 123 PAASS Recertification Session 11 Lancaster 123 NATA Annual Business Meeting 12 Noon Lancaster 456 Awards Luncheon & Speaker, John O’Connell “Vietnam, The Rest of the Story” Sponsored by Syngenta 1:30 to 3 PAASS Recertification Session 2 p.m. Arbor 2 Allied Exhibitor Meeting 3 p.m. Ballroom Coffee break in Exhibit Hall Sponsored by Meridian 5 to 7 Exhibit Hall - Reception & hors d’oeuvres Sponsored by BASF 6 p.m. Live Auction Wednesday, February 21 8 a.m. Ballroom Coffee break in Exhibit Hall Sponsored by Johnston Aircraft Service Recertification Lancaster 123 9 to 9:45 Tamra Jackson, UNL Extension Plant Pathologist Crop Disease Update 9:45 to 10:30 Robert Wright, UNL Extension Entomologist Crop Insect Management Update 10:30 to 11:00 Coffee break in Atrium 11:00 to 12:00 Stevan Knezevic, Professor of Integrated Weed Management UNL Dicamba And Associated Issues Luncheon 12:00 TO 1:00 Lancaster 456 Speaker, Gary Jerger, NAAA President 1 to 1:30 Allen Dutcher, Associate State Climatologist, Nebraska State Climate Office 1:30 to 2:30 Tim Creger, NE Department of Agriculture Regulatory Updates


PAASS Project Summary Presentation Topics 2017‐2018 Program

The 2017-2018 PAASS Program will celebrate its 20th year of safety-education programming by presenting the mod-ule topics outlined below. Agricultural Aviation’s Airfield Watch Since September 11, 2001, the aviation industry and our own aerial application segment has been focused on prevent-ing civil aviation from being used in terrorist activities. If an ag aircraft was used as a weapon, the stigma would cause disastrous damage to the perception of the aerial application industry. However, sound security has the additional bene-fit of protecting the facility against threats from common vandalism, theft, fire, natural disasters, and other perils. This module will assist operators in auditing security of their facility and suggest ways to improve it. Human Factors in Agricultural Aviation – “Maintenance Related Aircraft Accidents” According to NAAA accident data, maintenance problems account for about one-third of ag aircraft accidents reported by the NTSB. In this session, NTSB’s Senior Aviation Accident Investigator Tom Little, a former ag pilot, leads atten-dees in an investigation of selected accidents where improper or lack of maintenance was determined to be the acci-dent’s cause. Selected accident reports will be presented in detail along with NTSB’s probable cause accompanied by photographic evidence used in reaching this finding. As each report is analyzed, the audience will be given an opportu-nity to discuss steps that could have been taken to prevent the accident. Environmental Professionalism – “Spray Equipment Selection and Setup” This season’s module examines how spray equipment selection and setup on your aircraft can affect the accuracy of the application. The first section covers calibrating your aircraft to apply both the correct spray application rate as well as the correct droplet size. How nozzle type, orifice size, airspeed, and operating pressure affect droplet size will also be examined. From there, we will discuss how reducing the boom length might provide an additional technique for drift mitigation, as well as how it affects the effective swath of the aircraft. Finally, the module will look at how noz-zles under the fuselage of the aircraft affect the quality and uniformity of the spray pattern as well as the potential for drift. Hangar AG Flying – “Topics of Interest to Ag Operators” This module will include an analysis of ag accidents that occurred during the 2017 application season. Studying these accidents enables attendees to learn from other pilots’ experiences and increase flying safety. During the 2017 season, we lost several pilots to weather related incidents. Avoidance of low level flying in foggy conditions will be discussed. A marked increase in airplane shootings and UAV encounters were experienced this year. Checklists have been pre-pared to assist operators and pilots in reporting these encounters to the proper authorities. Ample time will be allowed during the entire program for attendee discussions and sharing of experiences involving issues and practices related to their own ag operations

To be Presented Tuesday, February 20, 2018

At the NATA Annual Convention


RICK RICHTER

Rick Richter grew up on a small dairy farm near Maxwell in Northern California. He continues to live, with his wife Brenda, on property that has been in his family for four generations. After attending local schools, he began working toward a B.S. degree in General Agriculture from Chico State University; while attending college, he began to pursue his lifelong dream of flying. Upon graduation from Chico State in 1975, he became employed at a local crop dusting business that was managed by his cousin and was soon focused on making agricultural aviation his career choice. In 1983, Rick formed Richter Aviation with one A-model Ag Cat and about 2,000 acres of rice work. Today, Richter Aviation services more than 33,000 acres of rice in addition to other diversified crops throughout Colusa and Glenn counties. Richter Aviation currently flies five Ag Cats: four with tur-bines and one with a piston engine (the same plane he started with back in 1983). In 1988, Rick and his wife began growing rice and now farm 400 acres along with 70 acres of wal-nuts on their own land in the Maxwell area. Rick became active in the California Agricultural Aircraft Association in the 1990s and has served as chairman of the Board of Directors. He was also honored to serve the NAAA as the 2009 Vice Presi-dent and the 2011 President. He is currently direc-tor of a local irrigation district board and was re-cently appointed representative to the Joint Pow-ers Authority Board for an off-stream storage res-ervoir project near his home. Rick has also mentored his son, Nick, in the family business. Nick just completed his fifth ag flying season this year and has transitioned to the tur-bine aircraft quite well. Rick recognizes the importance of mandatory edu-cation and recurrent training in our industry, and he is looking forward to making his contribution to the PAASS Program by furthering these goals.

MATT HOVDENES

Matt Hovdenes became interested in avia-tion early in his life. His father, while not a pilot himself, was very interested in aviation and passed that interest on to Matt. Some of Matt’s early aviation memories come from going to the Air National Guard base in Fargo, North Dakota where his dad worked and watching F-4’s being launched and recovered.

After graduating high school from Detroit Lakes, MN Matt attended college at the Univer-sity of Minnesota Crookston. Loading for an ae-rial applicator in the summer and playing football made college life busy but not too busy to fly! At college Matt earned his private and commer-cial pilot certificates along with instrument and Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) ratings. Matt Graduated College in December of 2000 with Bachelor of Science degrees in both Agricultural Aviation, and Plant Industries Management (agronomy). Since college he has earned his multi-engine rating and added an instrument rat-ing to his CFI Certificate.

After College Matt worked as a full time flight instructor at a small FBO for slightly less than a year. In 2002, after years of hard work, Matt finally started flying ag. He has flown many different aircraft and is now currently flying an AT-502 for Wischer Aviation in Grandin, North Dakota.

Matt was married in December of 2002 to his wife Hilary. They have twins Emma and An-ders who were born in 2008. In the off season Matt enjoys camping and traveling with his fam-ily and friends. He also tries to fit in as much hunting and ice fishing as time allows. Matt is always trying to find a way to fly by giving occa-sional instructional flights and flying the company C-182.

Matt has been active in the NDAAA serv-ing as the president from 2010-2012 and is serv-ing as the past president in 2015. He and the company he works for has hosted Cub Scout groups and given many people and children in the area their first airplane ride. In 2005, Matt was awarded the John Robert Horne Memorial Award from the NAAA. After graduating from the Syngenta Leadership Training in 2006, he has seen the value of the NAAA and has been willing to help where he can. Matt looks forward to working with PAASS as he has witnessed and ex-perienced the safety and professionalism that it promotes within our industry.


Common Legal Issues in Agricultural Aviation

2:15 to 3 p.m.

On Monday afternoon of the NATA Annual Conference, those registered for the Conference may attend a presentation by Adam Kuenning, an aviation attorney with NATA Affiliate Member Erick-son & Sederstrom, P.C., L.L.O. The presentation will address several common legal issues applicable to agricultural aviation opera-tors and support organizations. These issues discussed will include mechanisms for aircraft owner-ship, aircraft accident vs. incident considerations, the importance of appropriate contracts for ser-vices, and general business considerations for industry insiders. Adam is a native of Broken Bow, Nebraska. He is also a pilot and a former air traffic controller. Adam attained his B.S. in Aeronau-tics with a minor in Aviation Management from the University of North Dakota. At that point Adam became an air traffic controller at Kansas City International Airport (KMCI) where he worked in both the tower and terminal area radar environments serving the Kansas City area. Later Adam served as an air medical transport dispatch supervisor for an industry-leading air medical company where he supervised the operations of approximately 300 air medical helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft on a daily basis. Adam then returned to federal civil service and worked with the Department of Defense as a Contract Specialist where he assisted high-ranking decision makers to acquire goods and services for the warfighter. Adam’s practice with Erickson & Sederstrom focuses largely on aviation and health care, two industries with extensive state and federal oversight, individual licensure, and extensive risks to industry insiders in the event of an accident or incident. Adam also teaches at the Creighton University School of Law. Tiernan Siems, another of Erickson & Sederstrom’s aviation attorneys, will be at the presentation. In addition to being an attorney, Tiernan holds certificates for certified flight instructor, certified flight instructor - instrument, multi-engine instructor, and airline transport pilot. He is also a Part 91 and 135 charter pilot.

Let’s Talk about Drones

1:30 to 2:15

This conference session, scheduled for Monday, February 19 at 1:30pm will pro-

vide an opportunity to learn about the new drone safety beacon, and new drone rules that will have an impact on your industry.

It will also provide an opportunity for discussion and dialogue on unmanned air-

craft, and your concerns and ideas that will help with safety. The presentation will highlight a few themes that include: 1) Update and preview of the new drone safety beacon video that

highlights the importance of agricultural aviation to crop production, the risks that drones pose to agricultural aviation flight opera-tions, and the new safety beacon as a tool for airspace deconfliction. 2) New research directions at UNL that include unmanned air-craft spray systems. 3) New unmanned aircraft FAA registration requirements. 4) A broad overview of the some of the drone re-lated initiatives at the National level. Things are moving fast in the world of unmanned aircraft, and it is important to keep up with the ever changing landscape. Feel free to join this session at the February conference on Monday afternoon, so that you are aware of drones and many of the recent devel-opments that will have an impact on your industry.

Adam Kuenning

Wayne Woldt

Monday, February 19 Breakout Sessions Lancaster Room 123


Nebraska Operation S.A.F.E. I hope that you all had a great holiday season and are looking forward to a prosperous new year! As you can imagine, pattern testing in Nebraska has been slow for the past month or so, but I did have to opportunity to attend the Kansas and California AAA confer-ences, NAAA conference, and I will at attending the Texas conference in January. I have a great time at these conferences meeting and visiting with ag pilots from throughout the country. As you already know, my son Carson and I had the opportunity to spend 5 weeks in Australia last summer pattern testing aircraft. Everything had been lined up by Adam Hooper, Program Manager for the Aerial Application Association of Australia and after our arrival we spent a few days in Sydney recuperating from the long flight, and then traveled to Griffith, New South Wales (NSW) for a day of assembling some flight line equipment that we decided not to ship to Australia, and two days of pattern testing with Ed Dowling, Thomson Aviation and Gerard Higgins, SkyCroppers. Mid-afternoon on the second day of testing, we were flown to Cam-perdown, Victoria by Brett Hislop, Border Air Services and spent the evening pattern testing his plane. We finished the various passes in Camperdown as it was getting dark and traveled back to the hangar to run the string. When I plugged in my spectrometer, sparks flew, smoke filled the office, and the spectrometer went dead. I still had a large number of air-craft to test in Australia so I went to work on the machine. I was able to determine that the power converter had failed, but after elec-trocuting myself twice, I felt it would be better to leave the repair job to someone more qualified than myself (someone that remem-bers to unplug it before working on it), and we were done for the day. After visiting with Dick Whitney throughout the night, he was able to line up a new power supply and have it shipped to us. Early the next morning, Stephen Death, Hazair, and Adam Hooper picked us up in Stephen’s Cessna 206, and we flew to Hazair in Aubury, NSW. Hazair’s Aircraft Maintenance person, Greg Burke quickly found parts and repaired the spectrometer so we were off and running again. After a day of testing for Hazair and Ag Flite near Aubury, we were flown south by Mick Gribble to Benambra, Victoria where we froze while testing Micks aircraft. We did however have a great time there! From Benambra, we traveled north throughout New South Wales pattern testing in Quirindi for Les Brown, Quirindi Air, then to Piallaway to test for Jono Middlebrook, Middlebrook Air Operations, then to Moree testing Ben Brazier at Aircair Aviation, Charlie Tootell at Precision Aerial Management, and Brent Nottage with Helispecs. After two days of testing in Moree, we traveled to St. George, Queensland to test for Jason O’toole at Balonne Airwork. After twelve days of nothing but travel and pattern testing, we finally flew north to Cairns, Queensland for a four-day break on the beach. We elected not to go for a swim due to the fact that there were signs along the beach warning of the presence of salt water crocodiles. At the end of our break, we rented a car and drove a couple of hour inland to Atherton, Queensland where we tested planes for Hamish Jacob at Atherton Tableland Air Service, and then headed to the south coast for a full day of testing planes at Aerotech in Kent Town, South Australia. That evening, Aerotech held an informational meeting for their customers and conduced a canopy infiltration demonstra-tion using a fluorescent dye and comparing ground application to aerial application. The aerial application (at a much lower applica-tion rate) won the contest hands down. Our next stop was all the way over to the west coast of Australia to test planes for Brad Jones, Bungulla Farming in Tammin, West-ern Australia, and then south to Esparance, where we spent a day testing for Scott Mackie, Southeast Air Ag. Scott gave us a tour of the Esparance area which is a beautiful place located right on the southern coast. We spent the night with Scott and his family and we truly appreciated their hospitality! The final stop on our trip was back in Aubury where we dodged rain storms to test helicopters for John Murray with Forest Air Heli-copters. We had a great time with John, but I could tell that Carson was getting tired of testing planes when he decided to pick a fight with a kangaroo that had wandered near the flight line. Carson did however run away from the fight. After being gone for 5 weeks, testing 30 aircraft, completing over 300 passes, and using over 10 miles of string, we finally arrived back home. We had a great time in Australia, met so many tremendous people, and we were lucky enough to have an experience that few people get to have. I truly appreciate the people at the Aerial Application Association of Australia and their membership for making our trip so enjoyable! Alan Corr NATA Education Director, Certified S.A.F.E. Analyst Web site: agrisprayconsulting.com





NDOT Division of Aeronautics PO Box 82088, Lincoln, NE 68501

402-471-2371 Since 1986, the Department of Transportation/Aeronautics Division has sponsored an annual Aviation Art Contest for the benefit or our youth. The program goal is to motivate and encourage young people to be-come more familiar with and participate in aeronautics, engineering, math and science. There are three age categories of contestants: 6-9, 10-13 and 14-17 for boys and girls. If you have dreamed of flying or built a paper airplane, you have walked in the footsteps of the men and women who created the world of aviation as we know it today. Aircraft designers from all over the world work together, planning and testing ideas on computers. As the designs take shape, engineers and manu-facturers built with the latest composites and other materials to make them lighter and more versatile than ever before. Today aerobatic planes race across the skies at over 400 mph, balloons have gone from floating above cities to floating over the world and those toy gliders have turned into drones of all shapes and sizes. What new innovations and ideas will shape aviation of the future? It’s time to tap into your own imagination, grab your favorite set of crayons, markers, pencils or paints and create a poster for this year’s theme, Flight into the Future. This is an opportunity for our youth to share their vision of what can happen when people work together and follow their dreams for flight. Entries for the contest need to be submitted to the Department of Transportation/Aeronautics Division and postmarked by January 19, 2018. An awards ceremony will be held during April 2018, recognizing state, national and international winning students for their accomplishments. The winning art will be displayed for everyone to enjoy as well as numerous aircraft on static display and refreshments. For further information and an entry brochure, contact David Morris at the Department of Transportation/Aviation Division by e-mail [email protected] or call 402-471-2371.


NAAA Submits Additional Comments on WOTUS Recodification

NAAA has submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) regarding the recodification of the definition of Waters of the United States (WOTUS). Earlier this year, NAAA submitted comments to the EPA and Corps on reasons why the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule (CWR) should be rescinded and rewritten on the grounds the definition was too vague and unclear. These most recent com-ments detail what the new WOTUS definition should and should not include. First, NAAA urged the agencies to include clear jurisdictional lines and definitions. The previous CWR included multiple and overly ambiguous definitions that would make it difficult for a layperson to properly determine WOTUS boundaries. This included ephemeral streams that only flow in response to a rain event or isolated wetlands. Additionally, the definition of a tributary would have included ditches, gullies, rills and other ephemeral features that flow after a rain event. This would have implied aerial applicators would be required to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP), when designated a decision making applicator under a permit when making a public health application to such waters compounding issues created for applicators by the 2011 release of the NPDES PGP, which shut down ae-rial mosquito and invasive species control efforts due to the high volume of paperwork, added reporting burdens, and potential for costs from lawsuits for presumed permit violations. For these reasons, NAAA advised the agencies that a WOTUS definition that leaves room for case-by-case expert determinations would be the best solution to unburden the applicators treating land for either farming, public health and/or forestry purposes. NAAA also advised the agencies to include a set of excluded land and water features to bolster clarity. Excluded features should in-clude agricultural ditches, roadside ditches and manmade features such as irrigation ponds, canals and retention basins. NAAA will keep members informed on the recodification of WOTUS as it develops and will continue to engage in further rulemaking to permit the continued safe production of affordable food, fiber and bio-fuel by aerial applicators. Courtesy NAAA


ALL MEMBERS

PLEASE DONATE

AN ITEM FOR THE

TUESDAY EVENING AUCTION

TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUING

PROGRAMS OF NATA

Election of

members of the NATA Board of Directors

And Officers Will be held at the

Annual business meeting On Tuesday, February 20

PLEASE CONSIDER

DONATING YOUR TIME TO HELP YOUR ASSOCIATION


NATA Membership Benefits

RENEW YOUR 2017 MEMBERSHIP

The Nebraska Aviation Trades Association (NATA) is a non-profit state trade association which represents the aerial application indus-try in Nebraska. NATA IS an organization founded for the purpose of serving the interests of aviation related businesses in Nebraska. Representing almost 200 agricultural aviation operators, NATA also serves members from allied industries supplying ag aircraft owners and opera-tors NATA'S OBJECTIVES are to create strong communications among its members and to provide educational opportunities and current information on all facets of Nebraska's aviation related industries. RECEIVING HIGH PRIORITY are NATA's efforts to affect mutually beneficial legislation and to strengthen agricultural aviation's im-age as a responsible, safety-conscious industry. NATA PROVIDES tangible benefits to its members. The following list includes some of the benefits NATA offers its membership. LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTATION – Our lobbyist and NATA monitor all legislation and reports to the NATA Board of Directors re-garding any sponsored legislation that may affect the aerial application industry. A Legislative Committee is responsible for guidance of importance to our industry. LIAISON WITH REGULATORY AGENCIES - The NATA Board of Directors and administration provide contact with regulatory agen-cies such as the Federal Aviation Administration, Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Nebraska Department of Aeronautics, Coop-erative Extension Agencies/UNL, Environmental Protection Agency, The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, the Ne-braska Fire Marshal, OSHA, and many others. COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL STANDARDS - When federal or state standards are set, NATA provides information to help bring members into compliance. NATA represents and protects the interests of aerial applicators in Nebraska by contacting federal and state agencies regarding problems with compliance. NATA VOICE - The NATA Voice newsletter is published 6 times annually. The newsletter serves as a source of current information for the NATA membership. Articles keep members updated on legal, legislative and industry news. The Safety Corner and Crop Pest Update are regular columns in the NATA Voice and keep members in tune with recent safety issues and infestations across the state of Nebraska. ANNUAL CONVENTION - NATA holds its Annual Convention and Agricultural Aviation Exposition in mid-February. Educational ses-sions and fun-filled events are planned throughout the convention. Ag pilots are able to be recertified and tested at the convention. The Trade Show allows members to visit with allied industry representatives and learn about the newest developments and latest technological advances. TRAINING PROGRAMS - NATA provides direct access to the PAASS (Professional Aerial Applicators Support System) program of-fered through the National Agricultural Aviation Association. This program shows our industry's commitment to constant improvement for the aerial application business. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY - NATA publishes a membership directory each year. The directory contains the name, company name, address and telephone number of all NATA members by membership classification. PROFESSIONAL IMAGE - NATA gives you, the aerial applicator, the professional image the industry needs when working with regu-latory agencies. The image of the aerial applicator in Nebraska should reflect a concern for the environment and the professionalism of our industry. NATA is constantly striving to reinforce this image. OPERATION SAFE - NATA holds Operation SAFE Fly-In Clinics where aerial applicators are able to test and analyze the spray pat-terns of their ag planes. The Fly-Ins are also a valuable tool in promoting the safety aspects and environmental concerns of ag pilots. NATA has purchased the new string analysis system for spray pattern analysis. The new system will allow members to set an appoint-ment and test their aircraft spray patterns on an individual basis. Through support of BASF, Operation SAFE has seen a huge in-crease in participation in this program. Pilots wishing to check out their aircraft can contact NATA’s Operation SAFE analyst, Alan Corr, 308-830-3086.

DEADLINE FOR THE 2018

MEMBER DIRECTORY IS

MARCH 1, 2018


NAAA Joins Coalition Letter Supporting the Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2017 Working Toward NPDES-PGP Exemption

NAAA, along with seven state ag aviation associations joined a coalition letter sent to the Senate Environment & Public Works Com-mittee calling for the passage of the Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2017. The letter was signed by over 150 organizations representing a wide range of sectors within the agriculture and pest control industries. NAAA supports the passage of the legislation because it would remove the duplicative requirement to obtain a National Pollutant Dis-charge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit (PGP). In addition to being costly and burdensome for small busi-nesses, the NPDES PGP is unnecessary because pesticides are already tested and regulated under the Federal Insecticide, Fungi-cide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for water safety, with strict instructions indicated on the EPA approved product label. The EPA has previously testified to the adequacy of FIFRA’s comprehensive regulatory requirements including protection of aquatic species and drinking water. In addition to NAAA, the state ag aviation associations of Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina and Okla-homa also signed the coalition letter. A similar bill in the House, sponsored by Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH), was passed for the fourth time this past May. Courtesy NAAA

December 5, 2017 The Honorable John Barrasso Chairman Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works 410 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 The Honorable Tom Carper Ranking Member Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works 456 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Dear Senator Barrasso and Senator Carper, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we urge your support and adoption of S. 340, the Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2017. This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Sen. Crapo (R-ID) and Sen. McCaskill (D-MO), would foster the protection of public health, the environment and our national food supply. For almost forty years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and pesticide applicators, including public health agencies charged with mosquito control, operated exclusively under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). All pesticides are reviewed and regulated for use with strict instructions on the EPA approved product label. A thorough review and accounting of impacts to water quality and aquatic species is part of every EPA review. In fact, EPA has testified to the adequacy of FIFRA’s comprehensive regulatory requirements including protection of aquatic species and drinking water. However, pesticide users are now subjected to a court created requirement that lawful applications over, or near “waters of the U.S.” obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from EPA or delegated states. Requiring these water permits for pesticide applications is redundant and provides no additional environmental benefit. S 340 clarifies that federal law does not require this redundant permit for already regulated pesticide applications. Though the NPDES permit burden lacks any additional environmental benefit under these circumstances, it does impose costs on thousands of small application businesses and farms, as well as the municipal, county, state and federal agencies responsible for protecting natural resources and public health. Further, the permit exposes all pesticide users – regardless of permit eligibility – to the liability of CWA-based citizen law suits. In fact, for example, some applicators that once conducted mosquito abatement applications for local governments and homeowner associations – cannot afford the costs or risk of frivolous litigation that accompanies NPDES Pesticide General Permit (PGP)s and have refrained from conducting public health applications. Additionally, there currently is an ongoing lawsuit against a mosquito control district, forcing the district to spend its funds fighting in court instead of protecting public health. In summary, requiring NPDES permits under these circumstances impacts the use of critical pesticides in protecting human health and the food supply from destructive and disease-carrying pests, in managing invasive weeds to keep open waterways and shipping lanes, to maintain rights of way for transportation and power generation, and in preventing damage to forests and recreation areas. The time and funds expended on redundant permit compliance drains public and private resources. All this for no measurable benefit to the environment. House passage of similar legislation earlier this year (H.R. 953) shows a national commitment to advancing technology and public health. As such, we urge you to eliminate this unnecessary and duplicative regulation by moving forward in adoption of S. 340, the Sensible Environmental Protection Act of 2017.


UAS Tracking and ID Rulemaking Committee Releases Final Report; NAAA & Others Dissent

The Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Identification and Tracking Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC), chartered by the Federal Aviation Admini-

stration (FAA) last summer, has submitted its final report to the agency on the feasibility of various technologies available to identify and track UAVs

while in flight.

NAAA was among the ARC’s 74 members that contributed to the report. Members came from the aviation community, industry member organizations,

law enforcement agencies, public safety organizations, and manufacturers.

NAAA was one of 10 members that dissented from the report’s recommendations. The dissent was also signed by the Commercial Drone Alliance, the

General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the Aerospace Industries Association, X, GE, uAvionix, Ford Motor Co., AirMap, and General Atomics.

While all dissenters appreciated the time and effort that went into the report, the dissenting letter expressed distress over having “exemptions for a

massive segment of the UAS industry” and explains why lacking a weight-based threshold for compliance with the rules could “greatly undermine the

value, benefits and utility of UAS ID and Tracking – not to mention, jeopardize the safety of the airspace and comprehensiveness of any future

[unmanned traffic management system].”

Congress recently underscored the importance of UAS registration with the passage of the National Defense Reauthorization Act.

Overall, the report has provided the FAA with a substantial amount of useful data, including detailed technology evaluations and a comprehensive list

of law enforcement needs and preferences.

Highlight of the report’s recommendations include as follows:

If consideration of the dissenting organizations’ suggestion is heeded, basing tracking and identification of UAVs on a weight limit above half a pound. The FAA should consider two methods for remote ID and tracking of drones: direct broadcast (transmitting data in one direction only with no spe-cific destination or recipient) and (2) network publishing (transmitting data to an internet service or group of services). Both methods would send the data to an FAA-approved internet-based database. The data collected must include a unique identifier for unmanned aircraft, tracking information, and drone owner and remote pilot identification. The FAA should promote fast-tracked development of industry standards while a final remote ID and tracking rule is developed, potentially offer-ing incentives for early adoption and relying on educational initiatives to pave the way to the implementation of the rule. The FAA should implement a rule in three stages, with an ultimate goal that all drones manufactured or sold within the United States that comply with the rule must be so labeled. The agency should allow a reasonable grace period to retrofit drones manufactured or sold before the final rule is effective. The FAA should coordinate any ID and tracking system with the existing air traffic control system and ensure it does not substantially increase workloads. The FAA should exempt drones operating under air traffic control or those operating under the agency’s discretion (public aircraft operations, security or defense operations, or with a waiver). The FAA must review privacy considerations, in consultation with privacy experts and other Federal agencies, including developing a secure system that allows for segmented access to the ID and tracking information. Within the system, only persons authorized by the FAA (e.g., law enforcement officials, airspace management officials, etc.) would be able to access personally identifiable information. Courtesy NAAA


Documents

The NATA VOICE - Nebraska Aviation Trades Associationgonata.net/images/voice_january_2018.pdfAgricultural Aviation’s Airfield Watch Since September 11, 2001, the aviation industry