Author's Note: So...it has been an interesting year. Those who have been privy to the whole story know why I have been so quiet on here; for those that don't know, my health hasn't been what I hoped. That said, traditions are worth making sacrifices for, so without much ado, I present you with the 2022 Alphabet Advent Calendar.

A is for Air Tractor

Dusty was still trying to figure out why in the world he had allowed his 'agent' to sign him up to speak at this conference. The racer wasn't a great public speaker, and honestly, he was so green that he wasn't a great firefighter either…but Chug had still said yes, and Dusty wasn't a plane who would back out of things unless he had a very good reason. Unfortunately, as much as he wished, he couldn't convince himself that an intense loathing of public speaking wasn't a good enough reason to bail.

The small aircraft took a deep breath as he tried to navigate the crush of aircraft and ground vehicles at the international wildland firefighting conference. He knew that the situation would have been so much worse if he was a ground pounder…people tended to respect that aircraft needed a bit of a personal bubble to protect their more delicate bits…but Dusty couldn't help but feel immensely claustrophobic. The feeling made him want to bolt straight to the runway and soar back out into the wide, comforting expanse of skies.

Dusty knew was slowly inching towards a full-blown panic attack, and there was nothing that his escort from the conference could do about it. The sea of anxiety was literally about to swallow him…but then he spotted a very familiar set of tails in the distance Dusty couldn't help but feel some of the tension melt away. Like a shot out, the racer sprung into motion. He wove his way through the crowd until he was able to tuck one of his wings under the shelter of Jump 51's wide wing tip.

"Well, hello there." Maru looked up at Dusty with clear amusement.

Dusty didn't bother replying. He just closed his eyes and let himself feel safe and protected for a moment. After a few long rotor beats, he finally allowed one eye to crack open.

"Feeling overwhelmed, Champ?" It was Chief Ranger's turn to speak, and Dusty could feel his face instantly go hot with embarrassment as he realized he was being stared out by what felt like half of the Piston Peak Air Attack Team.

"Yeah…" Dusty finally managed to mutter under his breath as he pointedly avoided making eye contact with the team.

"Happens to the best of us." The helicopter spoke with a lazy tone that hinted at personal experience. It was that tone that finally caused Dusty to raise his eyes and look his trainer in the face. The plane wasn't completely sure what he expected to see there, but it definitely wasn't a look of mild concern.

"It is okay to admit that you need to step out for a bit." Cabbie added as he protectively sheltered Dusty with his wing.

"It was just…" Dusty traced a circle on the ground with a tire. "It's just there are so many people here, and I…I still don't fit in."

"Why do you say that?" Blade asked with genuine curiosity.

"Well, I am a slagging Air Tractor to start…" The little plane couldn't help but pout a bit.

"And?" The Chief refused to let Dusty dissolve into self-pity.

"And what?" Dusty spat back. "I am an Air Tractor in a convention full of Fire Bosses. I am a lone retrofit, and I am small enough that the size difference sticks out like a nail in a block of wood. I…I just don't belong here."

"Tell me how you really feel." Cabbie's voice was filled with mirth, but his words made Dusty feel instantly guilty. The little plane had been complaining about something so small to a plane who literally had it worse than him. Dusty at least had cousins who were firefighters. Cabbie was the only one of his kind left in the service.

"I am sorry. I didn't mean…" Dusty stammered, trying to beg for forgiveness from his friend.

"Dusty." Cabbie shifted so he was no longer sheltering the small plane and was instead angled so that he could look Dusty in the eyes. "It is okay to feel frustrated about being different than your peers…but I suspect you may be less alone than you think."

"Really?" The Air Tractor asked with a painful edge of hope.

"Really." Blade's rich voice spoke with a deep conviction that made Dusty want to believe him. "But we probably should go and actually participate in this afternoon's training first. Once we get that done with, Cabbie and I will prove to you that you are not as isolated and unique as you fear."

The afternoon wasn't nearly as stressful now that Dusty had a wingman. It was true that he really didn't belong in the Chief's track, but other than the request for the occasional autograph during breaks, no one said a word. By the end of the day, Dusty had been so engrossed with all of the new things that he had learned that he nearly forgot that Cabbie and Blade's promise to prove that he wasn't as alone as he thought. Cabbie had clearly not forgotten, as the old plan was sitting outside of the hangar door the moment that the last session that Blade and Dusty were attending wrapped up.

"Sorry about that." Blade yawned as he rolled up to where Cabbie was sitting patiently on the tarmac.

"Don't worry about it." The old plane replied with a shrug of his wings. "Everyone knows that the Chief's track always runs long." Cabbie then allowed his eyes to rest on Dusty, and he gave the smaller plane a smile. "But it does mean that we have to hurry because we don't want you to be late."

Cabbie didn't say what they were going to be late for. He just set out into the crowd of vehicles that were all heading in different directions. Dusty was instantly glad that Cabbie was one of the most distinctive vehicles in the area because the smaller plane suspected that he would have lost sight of his friend in the crowd otherwise.

Less than 5 minutes later, Cabbie finally stopped, and he motioned with a wing to a sign outside of one of the many hangars that were being used as classroom space for the conference. Dusty paused to read what was on the sign, and he couldn't help but gasp in surprise when he read the words Air Tractor Meet-Up scrawled across poster paper.

"So, this is…" Dusty finally managed to stammer out.

"This is the where the Air Tractors are gathering for the model meet-up." Cabbie smiled.

"If you would prefer, we could probably sneak you into the Fire Boss meet-up that is being held two hangars' down. Or you could always go and crash at the hotel." Blade stated with a shrug of his rotors. "But I suspect you will feel most at home here with, how did you say it…the retrofits."

Dusty couldn't help but feel his face grow hot at Blade's words, and he instantly felt embarrassed by his previous complaints. "I…"

Cabbie decided to not let the little plane stick his tire in his mouth and made an exaggerated motion with his wing. "Blade and I have meet-ups of our own to attend so you really should get going."

There was humor in the old plane's voice, and it instantly made Dusty relax a bit. It was safe here. With a bob goodbye he rolled into the hangar. Instantly, Dusty could see that it was in fact filled with Air Tractors. Each of the planes had been modified to help them complete some aspect of aerial firefighting. Some were clearly birddogs, ready to lead larger tankers through the smoke and ash. Others were SEATs like himself; some even had floats like himself. There was an aerial photographer, a couple of smoke spotters and there was even an Air Tractor sporting the livery of an Air Boss. No matter the job, each of the plane's paint jobs spoke to the important work that they did. Looking around Dusty couldn't help but feel his engine hum with contentment because even though he had taken a unique path in life, it still felt amazing to be in a room with others who looked like him.

Air Tractor AT-500 Series: The AT-500 series is the most popular agricultural aircraft on the planet and the third most popular small aircraft worldwide only after Pilatus PC-12 and Cessna 208 Caravan. This family of aircraft is slightly smaller than their cousins, the AT-802F Fireboss but otherwise have nearly identical flying characteristics. Because of this a small number of AT-500 aircraft have been modified for use in firefighting operations. AT-500s have also been modified for air racing and military missions.

The Air Tractor got its nickname from the company that manufactures them. Air Tractor Inc started to manufacture the Air Tractor plane in 1978. These planes were based off of the design of another brand of agricultural aircraft, the Ayres Thrush, which started crop dusting in 1956.