C. M. "Charley" Hirst
1900 - 1984
Charley Hirst Knows How to Farm From the Air |
| A MAN WHO KNOWS as much as anyone about what's eating on crops over a wide area of Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico is Charley Hirst. Hirst can tell you where the greenbugs are, the alfalfa weevils, crop diseases and weed problems as quickly as just about anyone. The Dean of the Crop Dusters has been spraying crops for farmers since 1947. Now at age 73 he still operates a large scale spraying business at Enid and even continues to fly himself. His years of experience have given him a keen sense as far as knowledge of where the threats to crops are. he's also up-to-date about crop conditions generally over his area of the southwest, which includes western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and parts of eastern New Mexico. Hirst doesn't claim to be an agricultural expert. He says his policy has always been to let farmers and their qualified advisors decide what needs to be done in the wasy of controlling insects, crop deseases, weeds and fertility problems. Many years in the business have given Hirst lots of know-how and some opinions about the use of aircraft in farming. He has done and is doing just about everything there is to be done in the way of crop production. He seeds crops, fertilizes them, treats them for weed control, bugs and diseases. And, he's convinced that more farmers should use aerial means to get their farming done. Hirst was born and reared at Drumond in western Garfield county He got into flying at an early age by accident. As a 16 year old he was working for a local mechanic, when one day a barn-storming airplane had engine trouble and made a forced landing near Drumond. Hirst was called upon to repair the plane and get it back in working order, which he did. From that time on he was fascinated with flying and worked on planes and flew them as often as he could. He was an experienced mechanic and pilot when he got his first license in 1930. Hirst had his own airfield and flying service in 1941 and began training cadets for the air force that year. After the war in 1947, he got into the spraying business and built up a large enterprise which now has headquarters in Enid and another in Roswell, N.M. which is operated by Charley's son, Robert. HIRST REMEMBERS his first spraying job was for weed control. Then he was one of the first, if not the first, to spray wheat for greenbugs. Hirst built his own spray units for aircraft back in the early days. He even got into the manufacturing business, building spray units for others who were getting into the aircraft spraying business. Hirst now operates an air force himself, with nine planes. He has owned as many as 21 airplanes in his business. He even admits to losing 24 aircraft over the years, acknowledging that aerial spraying does have its hazards. He has three large 600 hp Snows which can carry a load of 1 ½ tons of material; these are the backbone of his spraying operation. The aerial spraying business is not an easy one to get into, Hirst emphasizes. Big planes costing $50,000 each and engine replacement every 12,000 hours, plus repairs, fuel and other essentials keep costs sky high. NEW DEVELOPEMENTS are cropping up continually in the spraying business, Hirst says. Many farmers are becoming interested in foliar feeding of their crops by air. Night spraying is catching on in Oklahoma as well as New Mexico. Atmospheric conditions at night, with everything cool, quiet and settling, give generally much better results that daytime spraying, Hirst says. His planes are equipped with powerful lights that permit flying at night. In New Mexico where wide open spaces permit it, more than in some other areas, 90 percent of crop spraying is done after dark. Hirst doesn't see the day when all pests attacking crops will be under control, biologically or any other way. There is always something new, he says. Newest in Oklahoma is the alfalfa weevil which is one of the most costly pests to come around in many years. This year has also been a big one for cutworms, grasshoppers and mites. Hirst like to point out that aerial spraying is a fast way to get to a pest and get him under control before he can do a lot of damage. For instance, he recently sprayed 800 acres of alfalfa in a couple hours. He recalls his biggest day, with several aircraft being used, was when he sprayed 12,000 acres. His biggest year was when he sprayed about a half million acres. In all his years of flying Hirst says he's never had more than a scratch. He admits he has tangled with some high-lines and once had to unwrap the big wires from around the prop before he could take off and fly the plain again. Hirst says there are few jobs when it comes to crop production that can't be done from the air. He says seeding wheat is one of the many jobs that can be done successfully, if the operator has the right soil conditions and does the flying job right. |