I wasn’t sure how I would feel about not flying anymore but after 5 months of a new life paradigm I think I’m ok with it.  Actually, there were only two flying events that I really missed when I stopped doing them and those were B-52 aerial refueling and C-130 aerial spray.

What they both have in common is a high degree of stress and a higher degree of proficiency and skill required to maintain that proficiency.  Flying two large aircraft in close proximity to each other is an inherently dangerous activity but doing it well is, well, a blast.  On the other hand, flying a large aircraft in close proximity to the ground is also inherently dangerous but, in the case of aerial spray, extremely rewarding.

Most military flying is training in preparation of performing a wartime mission.  Practice bombing, aerial engagement, and airdrops are challenging and fun but the activity doesn’t really directly benefit the taxpayer or aid mankind.  I suppose the argument can be made that hauling cargo and passengers accomplishes both training and real world support but, in many ways, it’s not really the same thing as directly relieving human suffering.

Aerial spray is an incredibly unique mission.  It is both a direct military support mission and a homeland defense and protection mission.  The experiences of hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill proved that aerial spray can not only provide a critical barrier to protect our coastline from environmental disaster but can directly and efficiently reduce the spread of insect borne diseases and subsequent injuries and death.  It’s the kind of mission I enjoy because it requires an incredible amount of skill and provides an equal amount of satisfaction.  However, the biggest challenge is to find ways to train for the mission.  Maintaining the high level proficiency required to fly 150 feet over densely populated urban areas avoiding cell towers, powerlines, bridges, noise sensitive areas, birds, and other aircraft is a huge challenge.

You just can’t, like other military missions, find a sparsely populated area or a military training range and fly over it to maintain proficiency.  Sure, it works for oil dispersant and herbicide missions, both of those are accomplished in areas with very few people.   But spraying for mosquitoes is specifically tasked to prevent diseases in large populations affected by natural disasters and practicing by spraying deserts or extremely rural areas is actually negative training.  It can lull you into a false sense of security about the nature and abundance of threats.  And that’s why, for over 40 years, aerial spray has fostered relationships with communities across the country to both train in realistic environments and benefit communities that are regularly plagued with large outbreaks of vector borne disease (biting bugs carrying bad stuff).

No urban community would ever allow large aircraft to repeatedly fly over at extremely low altitude solely for the benefit of military training, but by partnering with cities, states, counties, and the media in communities adjacent to military facilities, Aerial spray has been able to provide the most realistic training possible to its crews.  They don’t just run exercises simulating working with the press and local agencies, they do it.  Amazingly, there are almost no noise complaints from the communities.  There have been rare attempts by citizens accusing the military of damaging the paint on their cars or killing their pets to sue the Air Force but, because of the extremely accurate tracking of the treated areas and the benign nature of the products used every case has been laughed out of court.  If we produced just half as many engineers as lawyers how much better off would we be?!

The results of this training synergy is a perfect safety record for military aerial spray and a fostering of long term relationships with communities who, due to their proximity to the threat, are most likely to be hit with future natural disasters.  I can think of no better scenario than training dollars spent that perfectly fit the training requirement and aid the public at no additional cost.

So I guess the answer is yes, I do miss some parts of flying but, more than the flying, I miss working with the dedicated folks that make it happen. I miss flying with crews that seem to effortlessly perform tasks that are almost impossibly complex while flying at 200 knots and 100 feet above the ground.  I miss people walking up to me on the street and thanking me for making their lives a little more bearable.

I remember, years ago, taking Gen Tanzi on an aerial spray orientation/training flight.  He had been a fighter pilot his whole career and I figured he would find aerial spray a little, well, boring.  After about ten minutes of spraying I noticed that he was being very quiet.  He has standing behind the flight engineer and he appeared to have a very firm grip on the seat.  I tapped his shoulder to ask him how he was doing and when he turned to look at me his eyes were as big as saucers.  All he could say was that this was the most terrifying flying he had ever been a part of.  By the end of the flight we had another convert!