It was deja vu all over again as Air Tractor became the focus of a nationally distributed news program recently. Only a year ago, cameras were rolling at Air Tractor to showcase the company’s aerial firefighting AT-802F air tanker for the popular documentary-lifestyle-science TV series The Aviators. This time, Air Tractor’s agricultural airplanes were in the spotlight for American Farmer, a rural news and educational program that airs each week on the RFD-TV and RURAL-TV cable channels.
The Air Tractor segment debuts Tuesday, July 28 at 8:30am ET on RFD-TV, so set your DVR now and standby for takeoff. The episode will air again Tuesday, August 11 at 8:30 am ET on RFD-TV.
The American Farmer video crew rolled into Air Tractor’s Olney, Texas headquarters and manufacturing facilities, and they immediately rigged up and moved into a fast-paced and long day of video production. The videographer and sound crew shot their way through the stages of parts fabrication, airframe manufacturing and final assembly. A series of on-camera interviews took place in the relative quiet of Plant 4, where new airplanes are prepped for delivery. The finished report will feature Air Tractor people and products to explain and illustrate their story about of the latest developments in precision application and the role of aerial application in modern farming operations.
With the world’s leading crop duster airplanes providing the backdrop, Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch gives an interview to the American Farmer video crew.
Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch and Kristin Edwards, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, spoke on camera, explaining the history of aerial application and growing role that it plays in modern, high yield agriculture. Jeff Dobbs, Air Tractor’s Customer Service Manager, highlighted some aspects of the company’s global support network. Pat Kornegay, of Sun Valley Dusting Company in San Benito, Texas provided his viewpoint as a long-time aerial spraying operation owner and pilot. And Air Tractor operator and dealer Grant Lane, of Lane Aviation in Rosenberg, Texas discussed some of the factors that aerial applicators and farmers should consider when selecting an Air Tractor for their operation.
“Air Tractor aircraft and the operators who fly them provide an essential service in modern, high-yield agriculture,” says Kristin Edwards.
“This American Farmersegment is an opportunity for us to show viewers how our industry utilizes the latest advances in GPS swath guidance, variable rate application, drift-minimizing nozzle design and precision flow controls to help farmers produce a safe, affordable and abundant supply of food, fiber and biofuel.”
