Truck Top Launch Pad

Truck Top Launch Pad SPRAYING Miscellaneous 19-3-3 A landing pad mounted on a tandem axle truck allows Indiana custom applicator Steve Squires to load up chemicals, seed, or fuel right in the field without ever touching the ground. "It lets me refill quickly without having to trample any crops. It's also safer for bystanders because the rotors are 10 ft. off the ground," says Squires, who has used his "truck top" pad for 23 years. The 18-ft. long, 8-ft. wide pad has a 2-in. thick oak floor mounted on a one-piece steel frame that bolts onto the truck bed. The frame is made from 4 by 3-in. rectangular steel tubing. A 1,200-gal. water tank, 500-gal. chemical tank, and 400-gal. aviation fuel tank mount on the bed under the pad. "It's much quicker than landing on the ground because I don't have to drive a nurse truck up to the helicopter," says Squires. "I often park the truck on a field road with crops on both sides of the road. I land the helicopter crosswise on the pad. The oak floor is rough sawed so it's not slippery. I use a boom on the helicopter to spray corn, beans, wheat, alfalfa, vegetables, and some nursery crops. I use an airflow seeder to sow wheat and rye and to apply granular fertilizer. I work mostly in a seven-state area surrounding Indiana, but I'll go anywhere I'm needed." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Squires Flying Service, 9126 Fayette County Line Road, Brownsville, Ind. 47325 (ph 800 359-4866).

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