Ep. 298-1 The Brown Angel: Crop Dusting with Davis Darnell (Part 1)

Ready 4 Pushback

Nik Fialka

Business, Careers, Leisure, Aviation

4.8 • 716 Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this first half of a two-part interview, host Nik Fialka sits down with Davis Darnell, a third-generation crop duster from the Mississippi Delta. Davis—coined "The Brown Angel" by Nik for the ag aviation world—has logged over 10,000 hours of tailwheel, turbine PIC in the ag skies, flying the kind of missions that define grit, skill, and precision.

This conversation dives deep into the life of an agricultural aviator: from growing up in Glen Allan, Mississippi, to becoming a solo pilot at 19, flying single-seat turbine aircraft before most kids have figured out college plans. Davis shares the thrill and danger of his world—early mornings, low passes, power lines, and pure stick-and-rudder flying—while unpacking how mentorship, family legacy, and small-town values shaped his aviation journey.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, pilot. Welcome to Ready for Pushback. I'm Nick Fialka. It's another interview show. My guest today is a gentleman named Davis Darnel, who is a high, high time prop duster. We talk about the blue angels a little bit. He's the brown angel. He's amazing.
0:22.8	He does a legit fly-in.
0:29.8	It's a long, awesome conversation about how fun prop dusting is.
0:32.3	I loved this conversation.
0:33.4	And it's long. It's so long that I'm dividing it up into two episodes.
0:37.4	And this is episode one.
0:39.0	Episode two will air next Monday.
0:42.0	And it's a great conversation.
0:44.7	And if you know anybody that is into prop dusting, wants to get into tailwheel flying
0:50.1	or any of that, this is the place.
0:52.2	This is a great episode.
0:53.7	And I loved it. So sit back,
0:56.2	relax. Let's get ready for pushback. It all started as a spark. Maybe it was the sound
1:04.6	of jets racing across the sky. Or the feeling of your heart racing as you watch
1:10.2	Crop Duster flying low and slow.
1:13.6	Even then, you knew you were meant to fly.
1:17.6	For pilots, it's more than just a job. It's a calling.
1:21.6	The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training, you didn't do it for the money. You did it for that moment.
1:30.3	That moment when the wheels lift off and the earth falls away beneath you. But flying is just the
1:36.3	beginning. The journey to your dream job takes more than just skill in the sky. It takes strategy
1:41.8	on the ground and a lifetime of learning. Most pilots don't
1:46.3	understand what career opportunities are available in the world of aviation. Learn
	...

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