Cucumber flyer
Gurkenflieger is the colloquial name for an agricultural vehicle that is used to harvest pickles . Cucumber fliers are used, for example, in Lower Bavaria , the Spreewald , Marchfeld and the Eferdinger Basin .
The cucumber flier consists of a tractor , truck or trailer on which two up to 15 meter long, wing-like platforms are suspended on the left and right, which float about 30 centimeters above the ground. Up to 30 harvest workers lie face down on the wings, pick the cucumbers by hand and place them on a conveyor belt , which then transports them to a collection container. The cucumber plane moves about a meter per minute so that there is enough time to pick the ripe fruit. The cucumber flyer is also used for other harvesting or planting work.
The work on the cucumber plane is extremely strenuous and takes getting used to and is very often done by foreign seasonal workers .