Take a stroll with me through a wet orchard while I explain why we dry cherries with a helicopter and how the process works. In this video, the rain restarted when I was halfway finished drying a 17 acre orchard, so I landed there to wait it out. I decided to take a walk among the trees to see if the fruit was as wet as the orchard manager claimed. (It was.) This video shows you what the fruit likes on the trees on the lower branches (where I can reach) and how water gathers in the stem cups/bowls.
About Me and the Helicopter
- I have been flying for about 20 years. My nearly 4,000 hours of flight time is in Robinson R44, Robinson R22, and Bell 206L (Long Ranger) helicopters.
- 2019 was my twelfth season drying cherries in central Washington state.
- The helicopter is a 2005 Robinson R44 Raven II — the same one that appears in the photo at the beginning of the video. You can learn more about them here: https://robinsonheli.com/r44-specifications/ I own this helicopter. It is the third helicopter I’ve owned since 2000.
- My helicopter has ADS-B Out and is picked up by radar facilities. You can see my track for recent flights on Flightradar24: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n7534D This is a great site for tracking any almost any flight, including the airlines.
About the Video
- This video was captured with an iPhone Xs with no additional audio equipment. Fortunately, it wasn’t windy so the sound isn’t bad.
- The video was edited on a Macintosh using Screenflow software. Learn more about it here: https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/overview.htm
- The intro music is by Bob Levitus, famed “Dr. Mac.” You can find him here: http://www.boblevitus.com/
I’m trying to drop cockpit POV videos every Sunday morning and “extras” with more info about owning and operating a helicopter and doing the work I do midweek. I also host occasional livestreams with Q&A chats. Subscribe so you don’t miss anything new! And tell your friends. The more subscribers I have, the more motivated I am to keep producing videos like this one.
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Thanks for this post Maria. I always wondered why cherries needed to be dried. They don’t dry apples or oranges or grapefruit, so I always wondered…Why cherries? Now I know! Thanks!
George
Who picks all the cherries you dry in Washington state?
I put that question to google and all the hits were for farms where the public could come and pick their own.
Somehow I suspect that the answer is more complicated than simple ‘self-harvesting’…
Could you send us photos of the pickers, please.
Self-pick cherries are virtually unheard of here. In fact, I can’t think of a single orchard that allows it. It’s all done with migrant farmer labor, mostly from Mexico and Central America.
I can do better than photos. Here’s a video I shot a few years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XILltUF5JLI
Thanks Maria, that video link was great, it answered all my questions and many more.
I have seen those (mostly) Hispanic picker groups from California, through Virginia to Maine, depending on the time of year. I venture to suggest that your President underestimates their contribution to society?
In the UK we have the same system but instead of Mexican labour we have Polish, Romanian and more recently, Bulgarian pickers. Your methods are way more efficient than ours, especially the data records of individual pickers being digitised on site. Those tripod aluminium ladders are expensive, I know, I have one.
A friend in Kent (southern UK) who owns an orchard, asked me to go apple picking a few years back, (free lunch and booze). I was up against seasoned Polish pickers. I like a competition so I worked as hard as I could for three hours. I was about 60% as good as the best Polish picker and more of my fruit was blemished by rough handling. I know when respect is due.
Thanks.