Bighorn Flying Company
Aerial application (manned + unmanned/drone). WY and MT ranchers/farmers.
Bighorn Flying Company provides drone pesticide and fungicide spraying for row crops grown in the region across Wyoming and Montana. Headquartered in Sheridan, the operation reaches farms across the Great Plains region. Wyoming requires both a federal Part 137 ag aircraft operator certificate and an Wyoming Department of Agriculture-issued aerial-category pesticide applicator license for any commercial spray.
Operations are based in the Great Plains region.
Services offered
States served (2)
Aerial pesticide licensing in states served
Every state requires a pesticide applicator license with the aerial category endorsement on top of FAA Part 137. The agencies that issue these licenses in Bighorn Flying Company's service area:
- Wyoming: Any commercial drone spray over Wyoming fields needs Aerial Application (WY Admin Code Ch. 28, Sec. 28-5, explicitly includes UAS), issued by Wyoming Department of Agriculture.
- Montana: Any commercial drone spray over Montana fields needs Category 18: Aerial Applicator, issued by Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA).
Full agency, exam and renewal-cycle details by state are catalogued on the state pesticide licensing reference.
Verify and resources
Primary-source references for verifying credentials and looking up state-specific rules in Bighorn Flying Company's service area.
Frequently asked questions
Verifying Bighorn Flying Company runs through three independent checks: Part 107 via the FAA Airmen Inquiry, Part 137 via the issuing FAA Flight Standards office and the state aerial-category pesticide applicator license via the receiving state's department of agriculture. In Wyoming the state credential is issued by Wyoming Department of Agriculture; you can ask the operator for the applicator license number and verify it with the agency directly. Pair that with a current chemical-drift COI and the Section 44807 exemption number for due diligence.
Typical drone spraying rates of $12 to $22 per acre in the region covers the application itself. That is drone calibration, GPS-guided mission planning, mixing and loading product into the tank, the labor and machine time to fly the field, plus a written FIFRA Part 170 application record: date, time, product, EPA reg number, rate, weather, field ID. The pesticide, the surfactants and the adjuvants are yours to supply. Four things get billed on top. Travel past the operator's standard radius. After-hours or emergency turnaround. Steep terrain or heavy obstructions. A minimum charge below a stated field size. Get the inclusions and the exclusions in writing before anyone flies.