ILLINOIS AERIAL APPLICATION UPDATED LATEST
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FIRM A+
✔✔Parts of a liquid AA system - ✔✔Spray pumps, tanks/hoppers, agitation,
filters/screens, spray boom, flow meters, valves, pressure gauge, nozzles, rotary
atomizers, and electronics
✔✔Frequently check dispersal systems to - ✔✔ensure equipment is working properly
and applications are uniform
✔✔Nozzles should be placed - ✔✔in aircrafts laminar(undisturbed) air, spaced to
compensate for uneven spray due to air movement
✔✔Prop Wash Displacement - bigger problem when nozzles are placed symmetrically,
remove nozzles from left and move to right - ✔✔rotating propeller sends a spiral of air
around the fuselage which moves spray particles from right to left under the aircraft
(causes more spray under left wing/less under right
✔✔Prop Wash Overcompensation- Peak in spray pattern on the left of fuselage -
✔✔fixing prop wash displacement leads to overcompensation , can be resolved by
turning off 1-2 nozzles 3-6 feet to the right of the fuselage
✔✔Wing Tip/Rotor Vortex - if booms span full width of wing or rotor - ✔✔causes peaks
at the end nozzles, helps to keep boom width 75% of the wingspan or rotor
✔✔Rotary Distortion- light application in middle/heavy on outsides - ✔✔Normally
corrected by adding nozzles under the aircraft between the skids
✔✔How to test a spray boom - ✔✔Set spray height, power setting, spray pressure, and
nozzle location duplicate field conditions. Fly directly into wind when ambient wind is
less than 10 mph. purge boom and operate at least 100 yards before and after the
sample cards. Run multiple tests with the same settings to ensure it was a
representative flight. Test after each adjustment
✔✔Best time of day to conduct a test run - ✔✔early morning before sun heats the
ground (causes thermal disturbances or instability)
✔✔Pattern test course layout - ✔✔Place flags parallel to wind to center plane. measure
a 100' wide sample width to space sample paper (2' centers)
✔✔Dry material spreader features - ✔✔
✔✔Dry setting changes - ✔✔No more than 250 lbs/acre or increase feed rate higher
than 35 lbs/sec (Otherwise poor distribution)
, ✔✔Dry Spreader for fixed-wing aircraft - ✔✔Ram-air spreader
✔✔Ram Air spreader features - ✔✔Needs higher engine power and aerodynamic drag
(affects performance and maneuverability) Typically attached beneath fuselage for easy
detach to return to spray operations
✔✔Dry spreader for rotary aircraft - ✔✔Centrifugal Spreader
✔✔Centrifugal Spreader features - ✔✔Meters fertilizer from the hopper onto a spinning
disc to distribute it. Spinner can be driven by a hydraulic motor or gas engine (controlled
via a hydraulic control cable or an elec. activated solenoid). Typically has two self-
contained units so ground crew can fill while spreading with the other
✔✔Importance of calibration - ✔✔ensure uniform and accurate application (effective
pest control, prevent waste, control volume, legal compliance) check periodically and
after adjustments
✔✔Differences in calibrating ground vs air equipment - ✔✔how you ensure uniform
application over target area
Ground-Uniform nozzle spacing and nozzle output
Air - Nozzle spacing and output varies with each aircraft/setup
✔✔Why calibrate electronic systems - ✔✔To ensure there isn't any issues and
determine swath width
✔✔how to calibrate liquid - ✔✔match application volume/droplet size with the # of
nozzles, size, application speed, and swath width. Arrange nozzles in desired
deposition pattern. Make test run duplicating field conditions. DO NOT change
application height to alter swath width or pattern uniformity. Measure tank capacity,
application airspeed, flow volume, and effective spray width
✔✔how to calibrate dry - ✔✔Measure application airspeed, output rate, and swath
width. Make test flight and collect granules in a pan. Measure granule volume and graph
to establish application pattern. Combine pans to figure out your rate/acre
✔✔how to make adjustments to volume/rate - ✔✔Best way change pressure (for small
changes), change nozzle size. Rotary can change air speed for simplicity but do with
caution
✔✔Equation for Oz/min - ✔✔(total oz collected X 60 sec per min)/sec collected
✔✔Converting oz/min to gal/min - ✔✔(oz per min) / 128 oz in a gallon
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FIRM A+
✔✔Parts of a liquid AA system - ✔✔Spray pumps, tanks/hoppers, agitation,
filters/screens, spray boom, flow meters, valves, pressure gauge, nozzles, rotary
atomizers, and electronics
✔✔Frequently check dispersal systems to - ✔✔ensure equipment is working properly
and applications are uniform
✔✔Nozzles should be placed - ✔✔in aircrafts laminar(undisturbed) air, spaced to
compensate for uneven spray due to air movement
✔✔Prop Wash Displacement - bigger problem when nozzles are placed symmetrically,
remove nozzles from left and move to right - ✔✔rotating propeller sends a spiral of air
around the fuselage which moves spray particles from right to left under the aircraft
(causes more spray under left wing/less under right
✔✔Prop Wash Overcompensation- Peak in spray pattern on the left of fuselage -
✔✔fixing prop wash displacement leads to overcompensation , can be resolved by
turning off 1-2 nozzles 3-6 feet to the right of the fuselage
✔✔Wing Tip/Rotor Vortex - if booms span full width of wing or rotor - ✔✔causes peaks
at the end nozzles, helps to keep boom width 75% of the wingspan or rotor
✔✔Rotary Distortion- light application in middle/heavy on outsides - ✔✔Normally
corrected by adding nozzles under the aircraft between the skids
✔✔How to test a spray boom - ✔✔Set spray height, power setting, spray pressure, and
nozzle location duplicate field conditions. Fly directly into wind when ambient wind is
less than 10 mph. purge boom and operate at least 100 yards before and after the
sample cards. Run multiple tests with the same settings to ensure it was a
representative flight. Test after each adjustment
✔✔Best time of day to conduct a test run - ✔✔early morning before sun heats the
ground (causes thermal disturbances or instability)
✔✔Pattern test course layout - ✔✔Place flags parallel to wind to center plane. measure
a 100' wide sample width to space sample paper (2' centers)
✔✔Dry material spreader features - ✔✔
✔✔Dry setting changes - ✔✔No more than 250 lbs/acre or increase feed rate higher
than 35 lbs/sec (Otherwise poor distribution)
, ✔✔Dry Spreader for fixed-wing aircraft - ✔✔Ram-air spreader
✔✔Ram Air spreader features - ✔✔Needs higher engine power and aerodynamic drag
(affects performance and maneuverability) Typically attached beneath fuselage for easy
detach to return to spray operations
✔✔Dry spreader for rotary aircraft - ✔✔Centrifugal Spreader
✔✔Centrifugal Spreader features - ✔✔Meters fertilizer from the hopper onto a spinning
disc to distribute it. Spinner can be driven by a hydraulic motor or gas engine (controlled
via a hydraulic control cable or an elec. activated solenoid). Typically has two self-
contained units so ground crew can fill while spreading with the other
✔✔Importance of calibration - ✔✔ensure uniform and accurate application (effective
pest control, prevent waste, control volume, legal compliance) check periodically and
after adjustments
✔✔Differences in calibrating ground vs air equipment - ✔✔how you ensure uniform
application over target area
Ground-Uniform nozzle spacing and nozzle output
Air - Nozzle spacing and output varies with each aircraft/setup
✔✔Why calibrate electronic systems - ✔✔To ensure there isn't any issues and
determine swath width
✔✔how to calibrate liquid - ✔✔match application volume/droplet size with the # of
nozzles, size, application speed, and swath width. Arrange nozzles in desired
deposition pattern. Make test run duplicating field conditions. DO NOT change
application height to alter swath width or pattern uniformity. Measure tank capacity,
application airspeed, flow volume, and effective spray width
✔✔how to calibrate dry - ✔✔Measure application airspeed, output rate, and swath
width. Make test flight and collect granules in a pan. Measure granule volume and graph
to establish application pattern. Combine pans to figure out your rate/acre
✔✔how to make adjustments to volume/rate - ✔✔Best way change pressure (for small
changes), change nozzle size. Rotary can change air speed for simplicity but do with
caution
✔✔Equation for Oz/min - ✔✔(total oz collected X 60 sec per min)/sec collected
✔✔Converting oz/min to gal/min - ✔✔(oz per min) / 128 oz in a gallon
