Across Australia, aerial agriculture aircraft have proven invaluable in fighting fires, plagues and oil spills. Pilot skill and aircraft manoeuvrability and adaptability have made air ag planes an essential resource in combating threats to Australia's agriculture and environment.

Listed below are some of the problems that aerial ag aircraft and pilots help to solve.

Locusts:

• Locust plagues can devour crops at an enormous rate and the highly mobile nature of swarms and their ability to migrate over large distances means that virtually all agricultural areas are at risk from damage.
• Aerial agricultural operators are essential to Australia's fight against plague, migratory and spur-throated locusts with aerial spraying of insecticide as the principal method of control. Swarms are sometimes located in rugged terrain and must be stopped before they reach cropping areas. Ag aircraft are rigged to disperse the appropriate chemicals in a professional and accurate manner and are the quickest and most efficient means of attack.
• Air ag operators carry out spraying under contract to the Australian Plague Locust Commission and various State Government agencies. Differential Global Positioning Satellite (DGPS) units are also fitted to spray aircraft to ensure the precise application of insecticide within the target area.

Fire-bombing

• Ag pilots and aircraft have played a vital role in fire fighting in Australia for the last 50 years. The experience and training of ag pilots is valuable in fire fighting, as is the manoeuvrability of the plane. Experience in low-level flying, topdressing and flying in less than ideal conditions gives air ag pilots ideal skills for fire-bombing work.
• The rapid response capacity of the fixed wing aircraft together with its cost-efficiency makes it a useful fire-fighting tool
• Dropping foam to suffocate the fire or retardent to prevent fuel from burning, ag pilots can fly 10 to 20 metres above the blaze, controlling the drop to suit the conditions. Most contracted ag aircraft have sophisticated, computer-controlled fire doors that can drop the load onto the fire within seconds, split it over different areas or string it out to create a containment line.
• Aggressive initial attack makes fire-bombers an essential part of the coordinated fire response. Agricultural aircraft in fire-fighting also help protect houses, sheds and on-the-ground firefighters from dangerous and difficult to control conditions. Millions of dollars of assets and environment have already been saved by the use of ag aircraft in this role across Australia.
• Aircraft are particularly helpful with small fires, such as lightning strikes, when a fast initial response can stop the fire's progress. Aircraft can also reach rough and remote terrain to control the fire until ground units arrive.