Mississippi Delta Crop Duster pilot RT: 8 min 

i love how when he hand props the plane and it sputters, he death stares it back to life.

I shot this documentary in the 1970’s just north of Greenwood Mississippi, in the delta area. It was produced for a PBS series at the time called “American Dream Machine” However I have lost records of what the pilots name was or followed his whereabouts.

This brings back a lot of memories for me living on the farm in Gilbert, AZ back in the early 60's. There wasn't a day that went by where I wouldn't hear the familiar sound of the bi-planes crop dusting the cotton. Always the flagman walking his certain number of steps with each pass. No umbrellas, but large flags they would wave back and forth. The tight turns of the bi-planes at the end of each run. They switched to helicopters at some point. My Uncle flew both and would land on the road outside our home and take us for a ride. There were times I could feel it hit my skin, so I've wondered about the effects, now that I'm in my late 60's. I seem to be doing fine so far. My dad fell ill with parathion poisoning at some point, but recovered. Then, in the fall, we heard the sound again as they would do the same thing, only this time they would lay down the defoliant on the cotton so the leaves would fall off just as the cotton bolls would open. The defoliant had a distinctive smell to it and all the sounds and smells would tell me what time of year it was. I miss it.....and my Dad.

I am 67, Grandpa, uncle and his son my cousin were crop dusters, All dead before 55. I would get up at five and go over to the hangers where they were filling planes and auger trucks. Sometimes flagman rode in the hopper. Watching Cheesy prop the planes and soon all hit the strip. Hotty Potty, was the cry after priming that signaled the beast would sputter to life. Long about dark they would drift in and Grandpa would come in for a beer and some supper. A little tv and to bed. Yes black and white. We would watch Paul Bosch rasslin on the weekends. They live fast and furious. Always drove a caddy. Someone once gave him a chute. It made a good seat pad. Parachute useless otherwise. Dope room was interesting! My uncle went on to ag cats and tractors. Finally to turbo props. Cousin could back his into the hanger. The smells, noise and visions still live in my head. This film was VERY good and i am sorry for those that didn't get a chance to get a face full of stuff off the runway.Thank You Don Guy !

This guy is old school. I never flew an ag plane without a helmet and fortunately never had to mix chemicals. I got away with about 2000 hours worth of ag flying and didn't total any airplanes in the process but brushed some trees and took down some wires in the process.

This is definitely gonna blow up with millions of views!! It's so cool how videos like this can be a time capsule. Super amazing job!!

Thank you RU-vid algorithm for sending me here. What a moment in time

In the mid 1960's, while growing up in a farming community on the Central California Coast, my brother and I would climb the apricot tree in our backyard, and watch Stearman's and Pawnee's spray the lettuce field next to our house. As they pulled up over our house, the pesticides rained down upon us like rain! Of the five siblings in our family, my two sisters passed away from breast cancer at 41 and 57 years of age, while my oldest brother died at 67 from liver cancer. Dad passed away at 84 from prostrate cancer. I read in the comments below that pilot Walton had died in a plane crash, not related to dusting. Wonder if he had any cancer related health issues before he was killed . . .

I love how those old kickstart biplanes are simpler than a CARB compliant lawnmower.

Thanks Don,a really good quality film, showing how it's done by a modest & skilled pilot, John Walton. Great shame he's passed on. It brings back lots of memories, the push-over into the crop, & the proceedure turn to get back onto the field asap. I flew Pawnees of various marks, never had a crack on the Stearman. I just fix them & other planes now, although I'm still flying as often as I can. Best regards. G

Holy shite! I cut my teeth with some seasoned guys that started their careers in these days. We've come a long way since then. So grateful to know guys like this and so thankful to be sitting in an 802 today taking it "easy" compared to the good ol' days

This movie is so beautiful. Great work Don. You captured a moment in time.

Wow, this is so neat!!!!!! I 'grew up' with this in NC Texas, 1953-'63. Dad, bein a ex AF combat pilot, WWII took me out to watch them work, when they first started comin thru our part of the world. We would go to wherever the dirt road intersections were that Saturday, that they were flyin out of. Damn it was neat for a 10 yr old boy! During refueling and reloading the hopper with dust, they let me stand on the wing. With the motor idling and the propwash blowin over me, I'll forever remember the smell of AV Gas and DDT dust. After refuelin, the pilot took off (no name, but Stearman painted green and silver), then turned and dived at us, and after givin us a custom FLATTOP haircut! pulled up. With that big radial putin out its characteristic low blubberin sound, he pulled up and put out his arms from the cockpit and waved them like he was flyin like a bird!!! Wow, what a show. That's what I want to do!!!!!! By the way, my wife Cindy did not post this, her husband, my name Rob, posted this!

My folks had a crop dusting business in Peoria and Perryville, AZ. Dad was the pilot. This was in the 1950s to the late 1970s. Dad had a helmet and seat belts. He flew the Navy version of the Stearman (N3N). Thank you, this clip most accurately shows the life of crop dusting 🎉😂❤

Wow! Great story, thanks for posting this. The comments are also very informative. Thx to all for the xtra info! As an aside, there’s a great book out there about a crop duster who worked the Central Az and northern Mexico farms in the early 50’s. It’s titled “By the Skin of My Teeth”.

What a piece of aviation/American history! Thank you for sharing this.

these are some incredible shots from inside the plane and from the ground, very well done

Thank You Mr. Don for posting this video. As a third generation Ag Pilot , I can't thank you enough for letting me view the old days of this profession. My Grandfather was a 35 year operator, who was born and raised in Greenville,Ms. He learned to fly in WWII, and began his ag career in a 220 Stearman in the Ms. Delta. Again great video thanks for sharing it.

Don Guy Thank you for sharing this video. It absolutely captures the essence of crop dusting and spraying in the early to mid 20th century. I was not a duster myself but I was around it in the late 60s and early 70s. I also farm and we didn't know any better than to expose ourselves to these dangerous chemicals... and some we didn't yet know were dangerous. I was once very ill due to organo-phosphates used as an insecticide while planting corn. It opened my eyes. Great job putting this together Don !

If anybody is wondering the song at the beginning is Hank Williams Jr.'s version of "Rainin' in My Heart".

Very cool! I woulda sworn you had go pros mounted in that stearman! Work of art! Thanks for sharing.

Haha, I have hand swung for myself like forty times and each time been truly grateful that the safety measures which I used worked. A mate of mine handswung solo for no good reason and was chased around the airfield by his 8GCBC until it nosed over!! Oh god happy days and lucky man indeed.

Nice job Don! Great to see some history on the Ag aviation history.

Thanks for posting sounds like an amazing person leaving the Corp world for a simple life where money was not everything, flying an amazing aircraft and setting back in a jet were the autopilot does all the work, But having a life where pilot skills are kelp sharp, and life is real. We should all be so lucky Thanks for making and posting this for at times people let us into their lives and possibly make one dream or open their eyes to new worlds or ideals

I remember these stearman back when I was kid . I remember a lot of crashes with highline wires and trees. One pilot used to fly under the wires and always had cotton stocks in his gear.

Skill is apparent. If you’ve ever flown then holding this pattern is a major accomplishment

Love the video, what a great record, just naked flying in that cool old Stearman!

Real old school. There weren’t that many Stearmans in use by the early 70s. I was flying Pawnees and Thrushes, in South Georgia and we had a competitor next to us on the airport that used a 450 Stearman. He was from South Carolina, and he had his son working as a loader boy. They would fly home some weekends with the son in the hopper.

What an amazing guy he was. My dream is still to be a AG pilot one day. I’ve recently got my pilots license and am working my way up a few hours at a time when I can afford it. Thanks to Johnn and Don for keeping the aviation dream alive.

What an excellent video. Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Thanks for posting Don!

The use of the pesticide is the lesser of two weevils.

Wonderful film Don! As a doc filmmaker I appreciate the 70’s style of filmmaking.

Thanks for a interesting piece of documentary.

Great Vid Don Guy...reminds me of S.W Hanke Clio South Carolina..he had 2- stermans 1-was silver 1- was yellow..childhood memories late 60s and 70s.

This is one of the best things I've seen in a while.

I just want to say I really enjoyed your story it’s a blast from the past I too was in the same field pun intended however the pesticides got to me and killed off not one but almost 2 of my kidneys but I’m good and then between motorcycle accidents and other things over the years my flying career hit The end however… Nice story and blue skies to your brother.. and your dog to😉👍 ✈️

The Delta is a very unique and beautiful part of this country. I was fortunate enough to be sent there for a year. Me and a buddy got to know a lot of those farmers since we were there to negotiate oil & gas leases with them. Some of the kindest and most generous folks I’ve ever met. I was born and raised in the south so that’s saying a lot!

Fabulous, really takes me back to Bob Graves Flying Service at Scott Field in Tallulah, Louisiana back in the 1960s and early 1970s which brought me into flying! Too old to fly anymore but I sure enjoyed all my hours flying numerous tail traggers over the Mississippi River Delta. We also had Bob Gomitz Field, Gustafson, Red Beard and one of my favorite services at Tallabena, Louisiana! By the way, aerial chemical spraying and crop dusting were born in Tallulah at Scott Field where the first spray planes we're DeHaviland war surplus biplanes.

Sam, what a touching and heartfelt remembrance, and your assumptions regarding your Father’s death may not be unfounded. You’re also spot on regarding the impact of agricultural chemicals. Thank you for taking a moment to share this. Regards.

“It came from WW2 nerve gas… this particular farmer is using a lot stronger doses”. Then starts handling it with absolutely no PPE whatsoever.

Awesome video....thanks for sharing.

This is a wonderful story! Didn’t know John was a duster! Great American story!

That's what I call a crop dusting movie. I remember the 70s crop dusters. I remember a few crashes too.

I started my ag carrer in a open cockpit stearman in ND just like this. Lots of metal 5 gal cans.

Amazing in so many ways

Really impressed me how low he was flying...touching the crops with his wheels 😳 Dangerous but definitely having more fun than the people on the ground 👍

Thank you for sharing this history

This guy was worth a billion dollars and got a silver star in Vietnam

without a doubt one best flying docs hands down make a new one …. love it

This is old skool! Im from Greenville,MS & every mornin walkn outside to get in my truck,if its any type of daylight them guys are flyn

This cat’s living the dream

Unbelievable footage and storytelling.

Thanks for the memories!

OMG, this brings back memories of my step father who was an ag pilot in Montana and would also spray in Mississippi.....he used auto flag-man however I had the 'pleasure' of flagging for him on a pivot field once 😁

I love the establishing shots.

Amazing, thank you Don

The film is a masterpiece!

Thank you for sharing !

During ww2 here in England my father from East End London but Special Services Admiralty SW1 had an American friend who had his own plane back home and did stunt flying when he couldn’t get work. He was involved in flying in Special Services Agents behind enemy lines to help the underground/resistance. As toddler in the 1950s from an East End family the fact my father had known US pilots and Coastguard was very unusual! He had an unusual war! Brought back memories!!!

the piloting skills are nothing short of Ninja.

6:02 I loved how he stopped to look back it for a second as if to say “Don’t you dare!”

My dad just retired after many years of flying. He started out in an Ag Cat in Start, LA and finished it out in a AT-802 in St Joe, LA. I flagged when I was a kid but never had an umbrella as a flag. That’s ingenious!

Old school flyin' right there. Parathion is banned, now, as is every other chemical I used to spray. I flew Pawnees (150 and 235) starting in 1972j as a young man. I did it for four years and got out. Great video, thanks for preserving that era, now gone forever.

Wow. That was fascinating.

That is some kick ass fly-in. Notice the tiger stripe camo pants

Thanks for the post. I subbed.

Dude the flaggers standing underneath the chemical spray is mind blowing to me.

Thanks for sharing!

This was fantastic wow thanks

Great film!

this guy is crackin me up with his courage. its ridiculous

I guess I’ve always been a dreamer, but to wake up in a Quonset hut surrounded by old Stearmans and a shop full of parts would suit me right down to the ground.

What a happy dog! Reminds me of mine. 😁

Awesome flyer 👍👍👍👍👍

I played football in Morehead. One of my roommates families owned in Ag Cat dusting service. Crazy flying he's dead now was a really good friend

Wow, that 1970's GoPro footage a Still looking good 👌

The skill is amazing

Spectacular flying (in his T-shirt!) But boy-oh-boy, are those 2 still alive?!

what a rad film. shows how far industry standards have come.

I realize this is an old video. But it's still interesting. Thank's for posting.

Interesting guys great pilots.

Makes one think whether the pilot & flagmen here will be with us in 15 years, the aircraft sure will be !!

If you don't fly... the skill it takes to just float above the ground like he does is quite difficult to master. Impressive.

Thank you sir

Cool flyin', man. He looks so comfortable just about 12-3 feet above the ground. Impressive. Happy landings!

like how he startes the Engine at 6:15... Prop turns... stalls and he looks at it.... and it starts. Good Relationship between Pilot and his Plane ;-)

There was a large and pretty successful crop spraying operation in the Delta region and they were looking to expand into moving people, next thing you know DELTA AIRLINES was started!

That was John Walton. I met him many times when I was flying for Walmart. Where did you get this video?

This is my favourite thing to do when I go to the supermarket.

When I worked as a flagman in the Rice fields of Louisiana. All I had was t- frame with a piece of white sheet on it. I love the Umbrella flag. It would keep me from being as red as a crawfish.

First of all, this is a truly excellent film. Thanks so much for sharing it with the world. From a technical stand point, I'm wondering what camera/lens combination you sent up with him for the cockpit shots? Perfect angle and great resolution. :-)

What cool footage

1963 my dad was dusting this area. He was also a commercial pilot. He made a mistake & died.

Nothing like the sound of a radial

holy crap this is the same man ive read about in so many vietnam books

KOOL VID AMAZING PILOTS💙

You wouldn’t think it but this man died as one the top 10 richest men in the United States

Does anyone besides me remember Sanders Aviation just south of Guadalupe, Arizona? They flew Stearmans back in the '60s.

Love how he hand props the engine and challenges it to run with his face, and the stearman obides.