Agricultural Aviation Ground School

Learn to fly the mission before you fly the field.

Professional training for aerial applicator pilots — GPS & lightbar navigation, swath patterns, aircraft systems, and chemical handling. Built on the NAAA Aerial Applicators Manual, state applicator manuals, and published aircraft POH/flight manuals.

View Training Modules About This Course
Know what you're getting into. Ag flying is low-altitude, high-workload, and unforgiving of complacency — obstacles, wires, terrain, chemical exposure, and weather margins are part of the job every day. This course is ground-school and procedural training only. It does not replace certified flight instruction, a Part 137 operating certificate, or your own judgment in the aircraft. Nothing here is navigational data — training aids only.

Training Modules

Work through modules in order, or jump to what you need. Live modules are open now — the rest are in development.

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Coming soon
Aerial Application Fundamentals
Swath width, droplet size, drift, calibration, and application rates — drawn from the NAAA Aerial Applicators Manual.
In development
Coming soon
Aircraft Systems & Performance
Ag aircraft types, hopper/spray systems, weight & balance, and performance limits — sourced from published POH/flight manuals.
In development
Coming soon
Chemical Handling & Drift Management
Label compliance, PPE, mixing/loading safety, buffer zones, and drift-reduction technology.
In development
Coming soon
Regulations & Safety (Part 137)
FAA Part 137 operations, certification requirements, and the accident patterns unique to ag flying.
In development
Coming soon
Ground Operations & Loading
Strip layout, turnaround efficiency, loader/pilot coordination, and fire & spill response.
In development
Available now
GPS & Lightbar Proficiency Drill
A supplemental hands-on exercise for reading cross-track and heading-error guidance and flying standard swath patterns — back-to-back, racetrack, squeeze, and expand — with a scored debrief on coverage, overlap, and skips.
Open module →

Built on Real Reference Material

Content is developed from published, verifiable sources — not invented. Where the course cites a spec or procedure, it traces back to one of these.

NAAANational Agricultural Aviation Association — Aerial Applicators Manual
State Applicator ManualsIncluding Idaho Pesticide Applicator Training Manual
Aircraft POH / Flight ManualsR44, R66, Bell 206B3/L4, AT-402/502/504/602
Lightbar / GPS SpecsG4 IntelliTrac, Bantam AirTrac guidance system manuals

About AgPilot Academy

A ground-school course built for pilots entering agricultural aviation — the same depth of professional courseware you'd expect from any serious certification program, focused on the operational realities of the job: application procedures, aircraft systems, chemical handling, and the regulatory and safety margins this work runs on.