Cherry Drying Season

[Nearly Retired]

But the question is: Did you? Fly at night, I mean. We all dry in the rain sooner or later, that's a given. But at night? Jeez, I'd need some BIG lights - like the kind the fixed-wing cropdusters have. And sideways-facing lights as well. With switches on the cyclic. And even then I might say no if it cut into my drinking time on karaoke night at the Pateros Bakery. I mean, there's gotta be a line drawn. You don't see birds flying at night, do ya?

[eagle5]

I had a ship down in the Valley (California) a few years ago drying and the farmer wanted us to dry at night and also in the rain...lol go figure that one out!

 

Drying in the rain sounds like a great time builder! They do frost patrol at night, so why not cherry drying?

[Counterrotate]

You don't see birds flying at night, do ya?

Ever seen an owl?

[rotormandan]

There's no point to dry at night usually. As far as I know it's the heat of the day that's going to split the cherries. It's the newer farmers that usually ask for you to dry at night. But that's why they'd want you our at 1st light.

 

As far as wind, It good to start at the downwind side of the field and make your passes so you always have a cross wind. That way you always turn into the wind at the end of the pass where you might have the least air speed. Plus it's it's nice to make a pass with some crab so you can actually see the ground/trees underneath you. If there's a row of power lines at one end where you need to do your turns, turn early and do a border pass or 2 into the wind at the end. Of course every situation requires a little something different but this is a good general practice.

 

Definitely don't turn downwind, especially in those box canyons.

Edited May 31, 2013 by rotormandan

[rotormandan]

One more thing: It was said before that if your engine quits land between the rows with no ground speed. It wasn't stated why. The trees aren't very high so you'll survive a fall straight down into the trees but if you have any ground speed, there's a good chance those branches will go through your bubble. Those cherry trees have some strong branches (so do the apples trees if you're ferrying over them) and those bubbles aren't very strong. Plenty of ag pilots have died from crashes because of a branch coming through the window.

[Rogue]

Slightly off topic -

what is the purpose of drying the cherries ?

[adam32]

But the question is: Did you? Fly at night, I mean. We all dry in the rain sooner or later, that's a given. But at night? Jeez, I'd need some BIG lights - like the kind the fixed-wing cropdusters have. And sideways-facing lights as well. With switches on the cyclic. And even then I might say no if it cut into my drinking time on karaoke night at the Pateros Bakery. I mean, there's gotta be a line drawn. You don't see birds flying at night, do ya?

 

Yup, until about 10pm. Some guys flew till 1 or 2am. And yes to lights, the same lights we use for frost...2 big ones mounted on the skid tips with a cyclic switch.

 

This guy wasn't a new rancher, he's been around for YEARS and has a huge operation...22 helicopters there that day. Sells his cherries to Japan so he wants them perfect.

[nightsta1ker]

Slightly off topic -

what is the purpose of drying the cherries ?

Later in the season, as the cherries are becoming ripe, they will absorb moisture faster than they can hold it and it will split their skin, ruining the crop. They are especially susceptible to this in the late afternoon when temps are at their warmest. Growers that have helicopter contracts typically have a much better yield than growers who do not, which makes it worth the cost to them. On a good year, they make a ton of money. I was told by my grower that one good year usually makes up for 3 or 4 bad years. Every year more and more helicopters seem to be swooping down on Eastern Washington and Oregon as more and more growers realize the importance of being able to quickly dust the rain off their cherries before they can absorb it. It's an insurance policy.

[Nearly Retired]

To elaborate a little on what Nightstalker said...

 

As the cherries get ripe and it gets time to pick the orchard, the farmer will send a sample case to the packing plant that buys the fruit. Obviously it is important that the packing plant like your product. They will be looking for reasons to reject it.

 

Yes, the cherry does absorb water through its stem. However, we also know that the stem is not a one-way check valve - it will shed water through it as well. But if more goes in than comes out, or more goes in than the cherry needs as it ripens, then the fruit will split open. Too many "splits" in the sample and the packing plant rejects the crop. Ouch!

 

Too much water can cause a discoloration of the "stem bowl" (the part where the stem goes into the fruit). These little "smileys" can also result in rejection of the sample.

 

An all-day or all-night drenching rain can be devastating. By happy coincidence, growers usually plant cherries in areas that don't get a ton of rain, like the Columbia River Valley in Washington State.

 

But wait, there's more! Sometimes it rains for a bit during the day and then the sun quickly comes back out. Remember, we're talking July here, so it's hot. The cherries might not get really soaked. But if a water droplet is allowed to linger on the cherry when the sun comes out, that droplet can act as a magnifying glass. The result is a little burn spot on the fruit and another reason for the packing plant to reject the sample.

 

Some farmers inexplicably rely on cherries for their sole livelihood (although many also do grow apples and other fruit).

 

As an elegant-if-not-cheap solution to all of this, the cherry growers employ a fleet of helicopters to hang out on "standby," ready to hover over the trees after it rains. We use the downwash to accomplish a couple of things: 1) Blow the water off directly, and; 2) Shake the branches to disperse any water that the downwash misses, especially deep down in the thicker part of the tree.

 

[superstallion6113]

Learn something new every day. Friend of mine just recently got hired to fly an old UH-34 up there drying cherries.

[Nearly Retired]

superstallion:

 

Learn something new every day. Friend of mine just recently got hired to fly an old UH-34 up there drying cherries.

 

 

I'd fly an old H-34 before I'd fly a new R-44

 

May your friend have a safe, fun, profitable season!

[Dragbrace]

To further add to the above . You have roughly 3 hours after a rain to get them dried before they start to split.. A lot of planning goes into making sure all the growers get dried in that time frame. A break down or an accident affects the whole operation. As Nearly Retired pointed out there are growers who depend entirely on their cherry crop as their main source of income . Tempers can flair if something happens that keeps them from being dried. You have to have a plan B in place to keep every body happy if plan A doesn't work.

[superstallion6113]

superstallion:

 

 

I'd fly an old H-34 before I'd fly a new R-44

 

May your friend have a safe, fun, profitable season!

I agree. I'd love to fly some old iron such as the UH-34. The sounds they make is just awesome.

[ridethisbike]

Thanks for all the input guys! I'll fire the link to this thread over to my buddy. Hopefully someone has talked to him about at least some of this stuff already, but who knows...

[yzchopper]

As a former cherry grower and cherry dryer in SE Washington, all this info is very good. Just be safe, know your surroundings and pay attention to everything. If you get close to wires and can see them, DO NOT LOOK AWAY. Keep that wire(s) in site and use your peripheral vision to see everything else. DO NOT LOSE SIGHT OF THE WIRE once you have it. If the wire disappears, "STOP MOVING!!!" until you see it again. If the wire can't be found, just go back the way you just came. Cherry growing might be a farmers lively hood, but it's also your life!!!

[aeroscout]

This cherry drying thread is very good, but not as exciting as the last. Just stirring the ole' pot.

[pilot#476398]

This cherry drying thread is very good, but not as exciting as the last. Just stirring the ole' pot.

 

Yeah I tried that too, but they took the ladle out, put the lid back on and shut off the burner.

[farmerJones]

As a farmer to any pilot to dry cherries, we maybe intense, hysterical, demanding, and worried about our potential losses, but we don't want you dead. When my contract starts, My pilot and I go to each orchard so I can identify obstacles, advise how pilots have worked each site before, and get him familiar with the surroundings under calm situations. Please, pilots, when surveying the site upon arrival with your ship, note if bird netting, bird repellant flagging, or any other items that can get blown/sucked up and entangle your ship, stay away. Communicate with farmer to make it safe if he wants you to dry the cherries. Farmers need to be just as responsible for safety for the chopper as the pilot. Don't text back and forth, land and talk directly or get cell communications through your headset. As stated in earlier posts, the smaller the ship the more risks. Again, site awareness, safe communication choices, and not taking un-needed risks will help your return.

A chopper pilot once told me "There's old pilots and there's bold pilots, but there's NO old bold pilots"

[mausermolt]

when i was drying cherries last year with Versatile i found it really easy to get bored. seriously it was awesome flying the old beast for about the first 2 hours, then...your just hovering around another helicopter...hardly interesting. i think most of the accidents happen when the pilot just starts to daydream and "forgets" about that wire or wind machine. point being find a way to keep yourself on your toes.

something i did was play power games with the 58. the 58 has so much power you will never run out unexpectedly, so i would give myself a manifold pressure limit and try not to break it by toying with different techniques. that way it kept my mind working on how i was going to maneuver around those poles or wire while at the same time conserving as much power as possible. it kept me interested and aware of my surroundings. plus a little bit of Iron Maiden and Metallica kept me awake after i had been drying for 10 hours continuously

[gary-mike]

Great thread DP,

 

I don't have experience to add other than the feeling of a great loss of a fellow VR member. His impact showed at last years Heli-success. It is good to see that there are a few willing to step away from their "it won't happen to me" attitude and explain ways to stay focused.

[mausermolt]

The "it won't happen to me" attitude vacated my mind around my 420 hr mark.... right about the same time helicopter caught on fire

[Nearly Retired]

Over on the JH "bad" board there's post about cherry-drying. The OP mentioned copilots. Someone chimed in, "You need a copilot to dry cherries?"

 

Well, no, you don't "need" a copilot, but having one is advantageous in many ways.

 

For one thing, drying cherries is not as simple as it looks. You don't just go out and hover randomly over a cherry orchard hoping you're doing some good. There's a method and technique to it, and you have to make sure you "hit" EVERY tree in that particular field.

 

Cherries absorb water through their stem. Too much water and they split open. Too many "splits" and the packing plant rejects the crop. Farmers can always ADD water through irrigation. But it's much harder to take moisture away. That's where we come in.

 

Helicopters dry cherries in two ways: 1) Using the downwash directly to blow the water off the tops of the fruit; and 2) Shaking the branches of the tree to get the water off that accumulates underneath the cherry clumps.

 

If you hover too high your downwash will be ineffective and the cherries won't dry. Hover too low and it'll knock the cherries together, bruising the fruit and causing the packing plant to reject them. So you have to find a happy medium. Each field is different. Cherry trees come in many sizes depending on age. What works for one field won't necessarily work in another of bigger or smaller trees. Farmers will sometimes direct you to fly higher/lower/faster/slower, but not always. Sometimes you're out on your own, doing the best job you can with little supervision.

 

Wind moves our downwash around. Sometimes I'll be drying and I'll be hitting *no* trees right underneath me, but five rows of trees off to my left or right. You have to take this into consideration when you enter and leave a field - did you get ALL of the rows? Not only that, but the wind can shift while you're in a field! Sometimes I'll be drying a field with a strong crosswind from the left (OH MY GOD! LTE!!) only to see as I get toward the end that the wind is now 180-degrees from where it was before. Dang! Again, you have to be mindful and make sure you didn't miss a few rows.

 

Think it doesn't matter? The farmer will know. They always have people in the fields assessing the quality of the fruit as it grows. They report to him the number of "splits."

 

Not all fields are level; some are on steep slopes. Some have tall obstructions. ALL are surrounded by wires - ALL of them. All cherry fields have wind machines that are usually running when we're drying. There are propane-powered cannons that go off randomly to scare the birds away. Talk about frightening!

 

So it's not just a matter of throwing a pilot in a helicopter and saying, "Go dry cherries, young man or young woman!" There's a lot to this job...if you want to do it right. And safely.

 

The company I work for operates single-pilot helicopters. But they're not small, 7200 pound MGW. Our empty weights are around 4600, so with full fuel we operate at around 70% or so of MGW. And we can take a copilot. Having low-time copilots with us gives them a chance to build time in a "medium" helicopter, and lets them see how the job is done for a season or two before becoming PIC themselves.

 

Lots of companies just hire pilots and throw them to the wolves with no training or experience. "How hard could it be? Just don't crash." We try to give our pilots training and experience *before* sending them out on their own. I see it as a win/win.

 

As an aside, I was never a fan of having a copilot in *my* ship. Fine for everyone else, just not for me. But this year, we are blessed with some truly gifted and talented low-time pilots. Their altitude and rpm control is great. I can hand over the controls with confidence and not have to fly 100% of the time. So now I'm sold. I try to give the "kids" as much flight time as possible. But these old S-55s are fatiguing helicopters to fly for various reasons, and it takes a lot of stamina (compared to a 206, say).

 

Anyway, we've had a fun year. Hopefully, some or all of our current copilots will come back next year...perhaps as a copilot again, or perhaps as a PIC. Either way, we'll know that they're familiar with the ship, and the task.

 

So no, you don't need a copilot to dry cherries. But it sure helps.