Mississippi State University is making agricultural aviation history this week by hosting the nation’s first Self-Regulating Application and Flight Efficiency (S.A.F.E.) training program exclusively focused on spray drones. The five-day training at MSU’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute marks a significant milestone in bridging the gap between traditional aerial application and emerging drone technology.
“Everything that we’re doing with spray drones, we want the traditional crop dusters to be involved in.” said Madison Dixon, associate director of the MSU Agricultural Autonomy Institute and training participant. “We want to build inroads between the spray drone community and the traditional crop duster community and, more importantly, ensure the mutual safety of all agricultural aviators as spray drone adoption increases.”
The training brings together nine participants, including seven MSU graduate students and two professional aerial applicators who hold leadership positions with the Mississippi Agricultural Aviation Association. Dennis Gardisser, recognized as the foremost expert on aerial applications of all forms, is conducting the training. While he has worked extensively with traditional crop dusters across the world, this is the first S.A.F.E. training program dedicated entirely to drone applications.
“Drones are relatively new in terms of knowing exactly what operational criteria are needed to maximize their efficiency,” Gardisser said. “We’re examining multiple variables including payload loading, wind speed applications, application height and nozzle configuration and flow rates. The goal is to master this emerging technology and understand how it fits into modern agricultural practice to benefit the grower financially. The objective is for these students to learn as much as they can to be competitive with other potential application platforms and be as safe as they possibly can.”
Dixon said the training serves dual objectives. First, it provides baseline testing and evaluation of MSU’s U.S.-manufactured spray drone fleet with each aircraft still in its stock configuration. The university’s Agricultural Autonomy Institute has been operating these drones proficiently, he explained, and will now use the data from this baseline testing to optimize the fleet’s performance. Second, all participants will receive certifications enabling them to conduct additional spray pattern testing and analysis for other platforms and end users, including growers and agricultural retailers.
The MSU graduate students participating in the training all are involved in current sponsored spray drone research projects funded by the Mississippi Corn Promotion Board and the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board. The program is being conducted in close collaboration with stakeholders from Delta State University’s aerial applicator training program.
Operation S.A.F.E., developed in 1981, was designed to demonstrate that agricultural aviation recognizes its responsibility to minimize potential adverse health and environmental effects of agricultural chemical application. The program provides critical measurements of spray pattern quality and droplet size, which significantly impact both application efficacy and drift mitigation.
The National Agricultural Aviation Research and Education Foundation, which administers Operation S.A.F.E., is considering establishing a separate certification category specifically for drone applications. The participants in MSU’s groundbreaking S.A.F.E. training program are expected to be among the first to qualify for this specialized certification when it becomes available.