CAAA Conference & Tradeshow

Attendees, exhibitors & solutions

Who this event is for

Industry trends

Key trends shaping this market and its wider industry.

Arrival airports

Choose from the following airports, with convenient access to the event and venue.

Hotel tiers

A range of accommodation options near the venue and across key areas.

Local transport

Get around the city with these convenient transport options.

Frequently asked

Glossary

1

Aerial application

Applying crop protection products, fertilizer, seed or fire retardant from a fixed-wing aircraft or helicopter instead of ground equipment. Used where fields are wet, crops are tall, or the treatment window is too short for a sprayer.

2

Ag aviation (agricultural aircraft operation)

The commercial flying segment built around agricultural work: spray and dry application, seeding, and contract firefighting support. In Canada these operations sit inside the aerial work rules of the Canadian Aviation Regulations.

3

Swath width

The effective width of the spray pattern laid down in a single pass. Getting swath width right - by nozzle setup and height above canopy - is what prevents skips and overdosed overlaps at spray time.

4

Droplet spectrum (VMD)

The spread of droplet sizes produced by a nozzle, usually quoted as volume median diameter. Fine droplets give better coverage but travel further off target; coarse droplets reduce drift but need more carrier volume.

5

Drift management

The combination of nozzle and pressure selection, boom height, wind speed and direction limits, and buffer setbacks that keeps product inside the target field. It is the single biggest compliance and neighbour-relations issue in aerial application.

6

Buffer zone

A required untreated setback between the application area and a sensitive feature such as a watercourse, dwelling, apiary or organic field. Buffer distances are set by the product label and provincial rules.

7

Label rate

The application rate and use pattern printed on the PMRA-approved pesticide label. Flying above or below that rate, or outside the labelled crop and timing, is an off-label application.

8

PMRA

Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency, which registers pesticides and approves labels for Canadian use. Aerial use patterns must be explicitly present on the label before an operator can fly them.

9

Aerial work (CARs Part VII, Subpart 2)

The Canadian Aviation Regulations category covering commercial specialty flying, including agricultural application. Operators hold an aerial work certificate and fly under the associated crew, training and record-keeping requirements.

10

Variable-rate application (VRA)

Modulating product flow zone by zone from a GPS prescription map, so high-yield or high-pressure areas receive a different rate than the rest of the field. Increasingly standard on turbine ag aircraft with automated flow control.

11

RTK / lightbar guidance

Real-time kinematic GPS correction giving centimetre-level pass spacing, paired with a lightbar or moving-map display in the cockpit. Good guidance is what makes consistent swath spacing possible at working speeds.

12

Hopper

The product tank carried on the aircraft, sized in US or imperial gallons depending on the airframe. Hopper size and the loading pad layout together set how many acres an aircraft can cover per hour.

13

Turnaround time

The minutes between landing at the loading pad and the next takeoff with a full hopper. Loader crew training, nurse-truck or pad layout, and mixing discipline all show up here, and it drives the day's total acreage.

14

Integrated pest management (IPM)

Scouting, economic thresholds and mode-of-action rotation used to decide whether a spray flight is warranted at all. Agronomists and operators use IPM reasoning when growers ask for a last-minute application.

15

Ferry flight

A repositioning flight with no application work - moving the aircraft between a base, a job site or the winter maintenance shop. Ferry range and fuel planning matter in a Prairie operating season spread across a large geography.

16

Aerial firefighting contract work

Summer work many Canadian ag operators take on, supplying skimmer or land-based airtankers and pilots to provincial wildfire agencies. It shapes winter hiring, training and equipment decisions discussed at association events.