Airspray(Colchester)Ltd

Great feedback chaps ,Farm Aviation later used Enstone and Little Staughton with Mike Pruden(Kings Cup DH Chipmunk winner)as boss. Cliff Annis was in charge of Lincs Aerial Spraying. Pat Miller survived a take off Pawnee incident at Boston and formed Miller Spraying at Wickenby becoming an Ag-Cat operator. There was a Cessna 188 operation out of Hardwick in Norfolk but the name escapes me. A whole book could be written on the UK crop spraying scene,now back to the original thread !

A belated comment, but just been reading ‘Six Feet Over – Pleasures and Perils of Aerial Crop Spraying’ by Peter Charles, which is a well written and enjoyable insight into the world of crop spraying.

Starting his aviation career in the ATA as a ground engineer, he followed up as an LAE working for various airline and charter companies and was involved in the Berlin Airlift, before eventually emigrating to Australia and obtaining a CPL after learning to fly on Tiger Moths. The world of crop spraying beckoned and he experienced life in various countries, while the firms he flew for before starting his own firm Peter Charles (Airfarmers) included Crop Culture, ADS and Westwick Distributors.

Thoroughly recommended if you can get hold of a copy.

Wicked Willip :diablo:

Wasn’t it Farm Aviation who operated a couple of Callair A-9’s painted bright yellow. G-AVZA seems to ring a bell and there was another registered G-AW??. They were occassional visitors to Southend in the late 60’s or early 70’s.

The second Callair on the register was G-AWPT Callair B-1 < ex SE-EWA > sold in Ethiopia as ET-ADE July 79.

Planemike

LN-KAA became G-BANH . It was destroyed in 1973 according to the web .

Hi Guys!
I see that most of the entries in this forum are somewhat outdated, but should anyone pick this up, please get in touch (olh@haraldolsen.dk).
I worked for Mindacre Ltd., as a pilot from January 1973 until september 1974, Thus doing two seasons in the UK and one in the Sudan.

I brought two aircraft over from Norway, LN-BEG (re-registered G-BANI), and LN-KAA which I cannot remember the reg of, as I didn’t
fly it after it came to the UK, therefor not in my logbook. But I know it pranged in Wiltshire in Juli 1973 and was never rebuilt. Does
anyone have any info on what the reg was on this in the UK?

Later I flew several C188’s, G-BANI, G-AZYC, G-BBCV, G-BBFT. After my tenure with Mindacre Ltd., I went to work for Farm Supply Co.,
(Thirsk) Ltd., in North Yorksire, stayed there for 3,5 years and flew C188 G-AZZG. From what I learned much later it was bought by a
museum in Perth for restoration, but was unfortunately later scrapped due to lack of funds.

If anyone are in need of a discussion on this subject, the Facebook Group “Crop Dusters nd Topdressers” could be worth a visit.
Harald

I’m new to this forum. There are photos of 2 Airspray aircraft in my Album for you. Challenger G-ASSN and Tiger Moth G-APIG. I hope you can access them.

Del.

Yes, hairyflier, excellent and evocative shots. Planemike beat me to it but I second his welcome to the Forum.

Flew over Manby last year en route to North Coates and it still looks delightfully as I remember it, when I first went there over 40 years ago, in the days of Varsities IIRC.

Any flying going on there these days?

Wicked Willip :diablo:

G-AVKX was registered to Magement Aviation -5-71
G-AVKY was registered to Management Aviation -12-75 then went to Agricopters -6-76

dh83

Welcome to the Forum Hairyflier………..!!! Excellent photos…..

Planemike

Miller Aircraft

Hi folks, just joined the forum and happened across this thread. I have a few pictures taken in the late ’70’s when I worked for Pat Miller.
The Pawnee in the first picture is spraying peas, that’s Scunthorpe Steelworks in the background.
Pawnee on the ground is at Manby.
Ag Ct ‘B’ spraying rape also near Scunthorpe.
Large spreader on last picture was for Nitrogen Fertilizer.
All were taken with a standard 50mm lens (I had to duck!)

Thank you Nighthawk and contributors wonderful photo’s of forgotten fleets.

The Fison Aiwork base in Essex was at Feering, alongside the main railway track, the first chopper to visit was a Westland S-51, fitted out for crop spraying, later the Hillers appeared in Fison Airwork colours, foillowed by Managment Aviation. Fisons pulled out and replaced by Fieldspray, who used different spraying companies.

Enclosed shots on G-AOFL, UH-12B and G-APOF UH-12C, all Fison Airwork in mid summer period 1959.Bell 47G-2 D-HOCO Deutsche Helicopters Diendst also used in June 1959. All at Feering base.

Another sprayer was Kolibrie NH H3 G-APRZ European Helicopters based at Ipswich Airport, seen here on old A12 Feering, loaded on transport trailer
in August 1959

Nighthawk2

I can recall seeing Hiller G-ATED around the Essex area a lot in the late 60s.
Fisons had a base of some sort around the Boreham/Hatfield Peveral area and I often saw saw it parked up there-alongside the main railway line.
Dont know of its eventual fate-although G-INFO shows it as destroyed.

Newforest, The Hiller was in the G-AV?? range my memory has gone. There was a high attrition rate crop-spraying with helicopters.

Fison-Airwork Ltd. Bourn. Hillers, inc Agent for the FH.1100. Into BUA, 1960, on into Bristow and out of ag. Bourn site to Management Avn., their subsidiaries Rotortech Ltd. (still there making composites), and Bond Helicopters: Bo.105 and out of ag.

Laddie Marmol, ADS (Aerial), Southend: ST Pawnees; Cmelak G-AVZB now in Wroughton Science Mus;

Farm Avn, Rush Green also had Callair A.9 G-AVZA.

Aviaition Spraying Services, Ltd. Rochester, 1966, Ag-Cats G-ATVY, TVZ.

Would G-ASOE be one of the Hillers, it doesn’t seem to have any spray equipment fitted?:confused:

http://www.abpic.co.uk/popup.php?q=1157709

Brilliant info and pictures ! forgotten nostalgia. Anybody remember Management Aviation at Bourn who had a fleet of Hiller UH-12E helicopters for spraying. A pilot left one overnight opposite my house in Leasingham near Sleaford,Lincs in the late sixties. He had flown them when in the Royal Navy at Culdrose. It would have been stripped today !!

Possibly, but as there are about seventy registered in Oz, I am not checking them all out!:D

Why not? I think you spend far too much time going round the world! 😀

Getting back to the thread here’s a shot of the ex Airspray Jackaroo after it went to Canada.

Moving off it again and to the other spraying companies, Agricultural Aviation and Engineering Ltd., wherever their operational base was, also used Tiger Moths G-ACDJ, G-AOET and G-APPN. Westwick Distributors meanwhile had in addition to those mentioned G-ADGT, G-APIG and G-APSS. Aerial Farm Services Ltd., I believe I am right in saying, was Bill Jordan’s outfit, which also used ‘PPN for a while as well as his famous Stearman G-AROY.

The other picture shows another of Lincs Aerial Spraying Company’s Pawnees, G-AVDZ receiving a wash at their Wyberton base.

Wicked Willip :diablo:

My memory might be at fault but I seem to think it was G-BBFT, eventually exported to Australia, although no idea in what state.

It would be interesting to know whether it ever appeared on the Australian register for if not then I suspect it went for spares.

Wicked Willip :diablo:

Possibly, but as there are about seventy registered in Oz, I am not checking them all out!:D

Was it ‘ZYC or maybe ‘BANI?:D ‘ZYC was destroyed 5/12/83.

http://www.abpic.co.uk/popup.php?q=1148004

http://www.abpic.co.uk/popup.php?q=1043656

My memory might be at fault but I seem to think it was G-BBFT, eventually exported to Australia, although no idea in what state.

It would be interesting to know whether it ever appeared on the Australian register for if not then I suspect it went for spares.

Wicked Willip :diablo: