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BASIC USE AND DESIGN CRITERIA
The Aerial Application Agricultural Spray System is a culmination of more than 20 years of development of Controlled Droplet Application (CDA) technology by such AG companies as Broyhill, Micronair, Aerolites and others. We have, after years of use in the field, taken thesystem to the next generation with new pump combinations and spray heads designed to be more reliable. First used on Quicksilver’s Ultralight in 1982, the technology and the results obtained by it leave no question that low and ultra-low volume CDA spraying is a viable alternative in today’s environmentally aware world. Better results are achieved withfewer chemicals.
Ultra-low volume (ULV) systems have successfully been shown to use as little as 1/10, or less, of the liquid volume that is used in conventional crop spraying. The spray system is unique in that it is designed to produce droplet sizes in a range of 60-250 microns with 95% consistency. This size range is the ideal killing range for most insects, plant diseases and weeds. A controlled droplet spectrum of a narrow range is made possible through use of the high-speed rotating grooved and toothed atomizing cup, air driven by multi-blade propellers. This enables the spray system to be used for all areas of pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, as well as liquid fertilizer, herbicides and maturing agents.
The spray system has been customized to fit the Quicksilver GT 500. The GT 500 is equipped with a 24-gallon (91 liter) tank. This allows for more coverage per load.
The standard chemical tank of the GT 500 spray system is translucent fiberglass so one can determine exactly how much liquid remains in the tank. The tank and spray system can be removed in about 30 minutes to operate the aircraft with two seats for recreational flying.
The Standard equipment on the spray system is a high volume, constant speed, 12 volt, electric pump that is capable of a flow rate of over 8 gallons/minute (30 liters/min.) at 15 psi. These flow rates will enable your spray system equipped aircraft to be used in applying liquid fertilizer and some herbicide and fungicide applications requiring higher volumes. The pump system utilizes a remote on/off switch as standard equipment.
With a spray speed of 60 mph (52 knots) and an effective swath width up to 60 feet (18.3 meters), the GT 500 spray system will cover an impressive 7 acres/minute (2.8 hectare/min.) when spraying insecticide at a rate of 1 quart/acre (2.4 liters/hectare) of total spray. Carrying a 24-gallon (91 liter) load, the GT 500 spray system will cover 96 acres (39 hectare) per load.
When installing the spray system on the aircraft, these concrete benefits stand out:
- Significant reduction in application cost by utilizing an ultralight/light aircraft.
- Important time savings due to fewer fill-ups, more acres/hectares covered per load and per day, and no recharging on battery backup.
- Notable improvement in coverage and control through consistent application of the best suited droplet size for better penetration of crop canopy, decreased drift potential and evaporation, and greater adherence of chemical to the leaves.
- Aircraft performance is at its best owing to the designed low system weight and the Spray System minimal drag. And, according to a NASA study done in the 1960’s, you are spraying at near the ideal spraying speed for chemical application: 44 mph (70 km/h). Larger airplanes and helicopters cannot operate near that speed because their downwash disrupts the controlled droplet mist application. Combining the low initial cost of a CDA spray system with the low operating expense of an ultralight/light aircraft, the possibility of tremendous cost savings to the world’s agricultural industries is within reach. The spray system was designed to promote economically and ecologically sound spray methods that are the future of agricultural aviation.
CONTROLLED DROPLET APPLICATION
| Special Air Services rotary spray nozzles break the droplets into a more uniform size. | Droplets from a conventional nozzle range from very small to very large. |
The spray system’s nozzles utilize centrifugal force instead of hydraulic pressure to create spray patterns. This technology is referred to as CDA, or Controlled Droplet Application. The objective of CDA is to produce the proper size droplet to effectively apply the chemical. The chemical and its target determine the proper size droplet. The aim when spraying is to uniformly cover the target surface with a given concentration of chemical. The key to this successful application is determined primarily by droplet size. Herein lies the advantage of CDA as compared to hydraulic atomization. CDA is a proven way to produce uniform droplet size. Hydraulic nozzles, on the other hand, emit droplet size that may vary from 10 to 500 microns, or larger. This wide variation in droplet size causes inefficient application of the chemical.
| SPECIFICATIONS:System Weight: 38 lbs. (17.24 kg.)Boom Length: 28 ft (8.5 meters)
Atomization: 12 high speed rotating grooved and toothed atomizing nozzles air driven by multi-blade propeller, producing a controlled droplet spectrum of narrow range. Droplet Spectrum: 50-300 micron with 95% consistency Pressure: Requires 5 to 25 psi. (10 to 15 psi recommended) Atomizer Flow Rate: 1-96 oz./min. (29.6 ml.-2.8 liter/min.) Swath Width: 45 – 60 ft. (13.75 – 18.3 meter) Pump Flow Rate: 8 g.p.m. (30 liters/min.) – 12 VDC Centrifugal pump w/remote on/off and tank agitation. Acres Covered Per Load: High capacity 37 gal. (140 liter) and 1 liter total spray/acre (2.4 liters/hectare) = 140 acres (58 hectares). Acres Covered Per Minute: 6 acres/minute (2.5 hectare/min.) at 65 mph spray speed, 45 – 60 ft. (13.75 – 18.3 meters) swath width, 12-15 ft. (3.7 – 4.7 meters) altitude. Tank Capacity: Standard – 94 liter fiberglass, High Capacity – 140 liters fiberglass Benefits: 1. Lower initial cost as compared to traditional aircraft. 2. Lower operating cost. 3. Lower maintenance cost. 4. Typically use less chemical yet achieves up 90 percent better coverage. You thereby save on the chemical costs and have less harmful impact on the environment. 5. Can usually land on site to refill the chemical tank rather than flying back to an airport to refill.
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Estimated Operating Costs (update January 2014): Typical Agricultural Aircraft vs the Quicksilver GT 500 Spray System
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| Note: The General Aviation plane costs are based upon estimated averages for a new entry level Ag Plane.
Your Spray System equipped Quicksilver GT-500, when covering approximately 150 acres per hour and operating at $133.14 per hour results in an average cost of $0.89¢ per acre. At $81.11per hour your cost is $0.54 ¢ per acre. The General Aviation Aircraft, when covering approximately 300 acres per hour and operating at $721.79 per hour results in an average cost of $2.41 per acre. At $474.74 per hour your cost is $1.58 per acre. The operating cost for the Spray System equipped Quicksilver GT-500 aircraft has a savings of 82% of the per hour cost and a 63% savings over the per acre cost of the General Aviation Aircraft.
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NOTE: Specifications and equipment subject to change without notice. |
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