NEBRASKA CITY – The Nebraska City Jaycees fly-in breakfast Sunday brought something not likely seen over the past 150 years of Arbor Day – a crop dusting helicopter.
Casey Randall of Monticello, Utah, was among the first pilots to arrive at the municipal airport and offered the public a look at his MD500 series helicopter.
Folks around southeast Nebraska are used to seeing airplanes used for crop dusting, but Randall says it’s hard for planes to navigate some fields that are flanked by trees, hills or buildings.
Randall: “The helicopter can – it’s a little more precise. Like we talked about it can land in the field, on top of a truck to refuel, to reload with chemical, so you don’t have to fly back to a runway.”
The MD 500 series is primarily used as a police helicopter, but Randall’s helicopter is fitted with spray tanks.
Randall: “This helicopter is very maneuverable. You can turn it essentially on a dime. It has a good capacity as far as what you can lift with it. It’s very capable.”
Randall has provided crop dusting services in Arizona, Colorado and Kansas, but says 2021 will be his first year in southeast Nebraska.
