‘Fly Delta Jets’: First officer’s dad pays homage to Delta with field art

Delta First Officer Amanda Vogt’s family history is deeply rooted in farming, crop dusting and aviation, so it’s only fitting that the Seattle-based A220 pilot joined Delta in August 2023, nearly 100 years after the airline’s own humble start as a crop-dusting operation.

First Officer Amanda Vogt’s family history is deeply rooted in farming, crop dusting and aviation. Sound familiar?

It was only fitting that the Seattle-based A220 pilot joined Delta in August 2023, nearly 100 years after the airline’s own humble start as a crop-dusting operation, Huff-Daland Dusters. The Delta connection recently reached its peak when Vogt’s dad, Jeff, carved “Fly Delta Jets” into the family’s 900-acre rice farm in Sacramento, California – an homage to his daughter easily visible to anyone flying over. Each letter is larger than a football field.

“Ever since I started flying, my dad has always supported me throughout my career and helped me achieve the next big thing,” Vogt said. “It’s really special seeing the sign come to life and flying over it for the first time.”

The family aviation journey began with Vogt’s grandmother, who in turn inspired Jeff and Amanda. Jeff Vogt, a commercial pilot at another airline for 28 years, took a shine to flying after being around crop dusters on the family farm. Amanda Vogt fell in love with aviation while traveling the world with her family and started working toward her pilot license at age 15.

While Delta expanded to passenger service in 1929 a piece of the airline’s agricultural legacy now lives with – you guessed it – the Vogts. In 2020, the family came upon a Boeing Stearman once used by Delta for mail delivery and crop dusting, an aircraft Jeff Vogt had been a fan of.

The superfans in the Vogt family still take the aircraft for a spin occasionally, soaring over the “Fly Delta Jets” homage that connects Amanda’s legacy so closely with Delta’s.

“Being at Delta has been amazing from day one of training,” Vogt said. “It’s just a great experience overall, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”