Be sure to keep the gate feeding even all the way across. This is easy to do by removing the rods and adjusting them all to the same length.
Always maintain positive pressure in the hopper when dispensing dry materials. Unpressurized hoppers result in big feed rate differences as the hopper empties.
38 and 41 inch gate boxes generally fit the 25 pound step rule. Reduce the swath width (1 step) or 3 feet for each 25 pound increase from the 100 pound setting - or - the opposite if reducing the application rate.
Pattern uniformity and width is dependent on material quality. Materials that have uniform and slightly larger sizes always produce the widest and most uniform patterns. You must develop a sense for the material qualities and adjust swath widths accordingly.
Typical swath width for the 23501 (10 vane) series spreaders on turbins is 75+ feet for 100 lb/ac application rates. The standard 22007 spreader swath width at 100 lb/ac is 66 ft.
Faster aircraft do not result in wider swath widths! The effective swath width may be wider in some cases, but only because of better uniformity with the more aerodynamically smooth airframe styles. Heavily loaded radials mushing along can't produce as wide a swath. Speed is not the answere, getting the tail out of the pattern with the aircraft up on the step is.
Spreaders should be hung on the aircraft so that the attack angle on the bottom surface of the spreader is the same as the bottom of the wing or slightly negative. It is recommend not to go over 4 degrees negative with the spreader tail. Negative means the tail is relatively higher than the trailing edge of the wing. The ideal pattern shape may be obtained by having the bottom of the spreader level in flight, but the spreader does not aerodynamically carry itself and the elevator may be semi-blanked out in some turning situations.
Spreader vanes should fit snugly - both top and bottom. If material can slide over the top of the vane, the vane adjustment becomes ineffective. The Transland kits to seal the vanes may help solve this problem.
Minimum flight altitudes should be 50 feet with 60 feet being optimum.
Many of the streaks are caused by pilots or their customers being too conservative on swath width. Do not automatically narrow up if you suspect a problem - it may get worse.
Do an accurate pattern test to be sure.
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