Real-Life Cropdusters Keep Northern Illinois Crops Healthy

By Mark Nankivil

This past weekend we took a family trip up to Northern Illinois to see family and attend a wedding.  On the way North up I-55 on Friday, we saw a number of crop dusters on the ramp at the Pontiac Municipal Airport (PNT) so hopes were up that they would be there on our homebound trip on Sunday.  As we headed home Sunday, we found the ramp at PNT loaded with 9 crop dusters and the airport staff kindly allowed us to walk the ramp and take photos.  With the cool and somewhat damp conditions prevalent during July through mid-Illinois, the crop dusters were in the area spraying the area cornfields with fungicides to combat an emerging fungus problem.

Pontiac Flying Services is based at PNT and uses both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters for aerial applications as well as offering maintenance, repair and flight instruction services.