Price: $49,900Courses,Curriculum and Cost of Training
The Sam Riggs Agicultural Pilot Training Center, LTD is a working airport. Because the field of aerial application is closely related to the farming industry, we teach you a variety of skills necessary to prepare you to be an invaluable asset to any ag operator. The majority of your training will be on-the-job or what we call "in-the-field" training. That is, actual, hands on mechanical and flight training. You will learn about entomology (the branch of zoology that deals with insects), chemical safety, labels, laws that pertain to pesticides, mixing, storage of chemical, aircraft care and maintenance, calibrating your spray aircraft, flagging a field, aircraft maneuvers, field entry and departure, and much more. Textbooks published by the United States Department of Agriculture are provided.
Private Pilot Course: The private pilot course is offered to beginning pilots whose ultimate goal is completion of their commercial license and their ag pilot sign off. The course consists of the minimum FAA requirement of 40 hours of flight time and instruction. All flying except the required nose gear training will be done in tail dragger aircraft in order to give the student experience applicable to aerial application.
Cost: $3,500.00 USD.
Commercial Pilot Course: The commercial pilot course is offered to all pilots holding a current private pilot's license and consists of the minimum FAA requirement of 250 hours. Completion by a student of their commercial pilot training at our facility will allow the student to enter the Fixed Wing Short Course without the prerequisite 1000 hours total time as the majority of the student's commercial training will be done in tail dragger aircraft thus making him proficient to enter the Short Course directly upon graduation of the commercial pilot exam.
Cost: $13,500.00 USD.
Fixed Wing Ag Short Course: This agricultural pilot training course has a prerequisite of 1000 hours total time. Twenty hours of instructional and flight time will be given in the following aircraft: 5 hours Piper Cub, Aeronca Champ, 5 hours Cessna 140, 10 hours Cessna 188 Ag Wagon Cropduster and/or Piper Pawnee Hutcherson Conversion Cropduster.
Cost: $5,500.00 USD.
Fixed Wing Ag Long Course: This course is required if the pilot has less than 1000 logged hours total time. Thirty hours of instructional and flight time will be given in the following aircraft: 5 hours Piper Cub, Aeronca Champ, 5 hours Cessna 140, 20 hours Cessna 188 Ag Wagon Cropduster and/or Piper Pawnee Hutcherson Conversion Cropduster.
Cost: $6,800.00 USD.
Short Heavy Ag Course: This course is available to all graduates of the Fixed Wing Ag Long Course. It is an add on course that gives the student an additional 5 hours of flight time in the radial engine bi-plane, the Grummon Ag Cat.
Cost: $2,250.00 USD.
Super Ag Long Course: This is our most popular course and consists of 50 guaranteed hours. The Fixed Wing Long Course is included in the Super Ag course with the addition of 10 more hours in the Ag Wagon or Piper Pawnee Hutcherson Conversion Cropdusters and 5 hours in the radial engine bi-plane, the Grummon Ag Cat.
Cost: $9,500.00 USD.
(USD=US Dollars)
Price: $49,900It is worth the time to go to a farming area to watch an ag plane in action. Very skilled pilots. Most have a cutter bar up the center of the windshield to cut the barbed wire when the come in too low into a fence. You really can skim the tree tops and hug the field surfaces to completely evade any radar.