Long-time Illinois aerial applicator Harley Curless will become the Air Tractor dealer for the Midwest region of the United States in January, 2010. Curless will assume ownership and operations of Farm Air, Inc. when current owner, Bill Taylor, retires at the end of 2009.

Farm Air, located in Fairfield Illinois, is the authorized Air Tractor distributor for Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio. Air Tractor Vice President of Sales Kristin Edwards says Farm Air has been an Air Tractor distributor since 1976. “Bill Taylor has built an excellent dealership. He has been a strong and responsive Air Tractor dealer in this very important region for aerial application,” says Edwards. “We’re pleased that Harley Curless will be stepping into that role. He has a successful aerial application business of his own, he’s a familiar face to operators in the region, and he has been an example and active promoter of best practices for our industry.”

”I’ve got some huge shoes to fill,” says Harley Curless. “Bill Taylor and Leland Snow have been my heroes for a long time. Bill and I have visited about the Farm Air dealership off and on for a couple of years. Bill called me shortly after the first of the year, and said it’s time to get started, so that he can be retired by the beginning of 2010. Our goal is to do things so that customers shouldn’t notice any difference other than the location from where they receive their parts or where they come to pick up their airplane.”

Curless plans to move the Farm Air parts inventory and dealership operations to his main location in Astoria, Illinois. Farm Air’s spraying service will continue to operate from the Fairfield Municipal Airport. Curless is building a new hangar at the Astoria location for the dealership and maintenance facilities and will provide services such as inspections, wing modifications, airframe repairs and maintenance. “There’s really nothing like that in the Midwest for doing heavy air frame maintenance, so we’re really excited about offering those new capabilities,” says Curless.

Bill Taylor will continue to be involved in the dealership during 2010, helping with the relocation of operations to the Astoria facility and assisting as needed to assure a smooth transition for Farm Air customers. Harley has been a longtime owner of Air Tractors,” says Taylor “He’s bought a lot of them and has done a good job and run a successful business. Harley is well thought of in the industry. So I hope I can help him, and his son Joe, ease into the dealership business, and am happy to help them in any way.”

“I’ve really enjoyed the last 30 years here working with Leland, Kristin, Kara and all the employees at Air Tractor,” says Taylor. “All I’ve ever done is fly airplanes since 1966 when I was in the Navy. I grew up on a farm and studied agronomy in college, so the two just fell in together with aerial spraying. But there comes a time when you start thinking about what’s best for my company and Air Tractor in the long run. So I started talking with Leland a couple of years ago about a transition so that Farm Air can continue going for another 30 years. I wanted to plan a smooth transition, as well as keep the dealership located in the corn belt.” 

Farm Air sells and supports the complete line of Air Tractor agricultural and firefighting aircraft, ranging from the 400-gallon capacity Air Tractor AT-401 to the wildfire-fighting, 800-gallon AT-802F single engine air tanker.

For more information about Farm Air, contact Bill Taylor at farmair@fairfieldwireless.net or call
(618) 842-7121. Harley Curless can be reached at cfsfly@winco.net or by calling (309) 759-4826.