Russ Amos

Born 26 February 1909 in Dallas, TX, was a true pioneer of agricultural aviation in theSouth. He soloed a “Jenny” at age 12 and was “barnstorming” and instructing by age 14. He was arguably the first to commercially dust a crop from an aircraft in the Delta region. He was a stunt pilot for the Ivan Gate Flying Circus and the Lone Star Flying Circus in the 1920’s. He was one of the first three pilots for the predecessor of Braniff Airlines. He took his operation to Stuttgart, AR in 1938 and developed his dusting business throughout the south and Midwest with upwards of 100 Stearman aircraft at its peak. He taught ferry pilots during the early years of WWII. A member of the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, Dockery died 20 December 1997.