Aerial Fertilising with Autair Helicopter
Photograph taken by Don MacCaskill and image courtesy of Bridget MacCaskill, Strathyre. Don was based as Head Forester at Inverinan from about 1960 through to about 1968 before transferring initially to Allean Forest and then Strathyre Forest in 1972.
The helicopter is landing or taking off with a new load of fertiliser. The writer recalls well the whole noisy, very dusty and exciting operation. Two railway sleepers were dug in to the ground and levelled off in a position to allow the helicopter to land on them. Phosphate fertiliser, in half hundred weight bags, was piled in low heaps on either side with a gap between them and the sleepers. Twelve empty 5 gallon oil drums had their tops cut off, edges rounded and each were filled with a riddled bag of fertiliser and 6 placed at either side next the railway sleeper. Riddling was essential to take any lumps and stones out for helicopter safety as one hopper remaining full would flip over the helicopter (also reduced the risk to the markers but cannot remember that ever coming up in any safety discussions!). All this was done while helicopter blades were running.
On the return of helicopter for filling we had to crouch down beside the sleepers, dust and soil flying, the helicopter skid landing beside your knee (but sometimes on it), get up and each team quickly poured the six ‘buckets’ into each hopper. The machine could take a little more when partially empty of fuel and if need to complete a particularly long spreading run.
Here the helicopter is being marshalled in or off by the mechanic, possibly off, going by the more relaxed, standing attitude of the loaders.
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Groups: Aircraft in Forestry Work, Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Groups of people