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16-602: The Thrush, designed by Leland Snow , first flew in 1956 and before long was being produced in series as the S-2 by the company he founded, Snow Aeronautical . In 1965, the corporation and all of its assets were purchased by the Aero Commander division of Rockwell , which put it into production alongside the CallAir A-9 that it had also acquired, branding both unrelated (though similar) machines as "Ag Commanders". When Rockwell dropped

32-520: A line of aircraft that includes 400, 500, 600, and 800 US gal (330, 420, 500, and 670 imp gal; 1,500, 1,900, 2,300, and 3,000 L) capacity planes powered by Pratt & Whitney piston and turbine engines. From 2011 through 2018, Air Tractor consistently delivered more turboprop -powered fixed wing aircraft than any other manufacturer; of 601 total worldwide general aviation turboprop deliveries in 2018, 141 (23%) were Air Tractors. Now (2024), even

48-588: Is a United States aircraft manufacturer based in Olney, Texas . Founded in 1978 , the company began manufacturing a new agricultural aircraft derived from the S-2B aircraft (designed by founder Leland Snow 's previous company, Snow Aeronautical ). Designated Model AT-300 Air Tractor , the new aircraft first flew in 1973. Leland Snow began designing his first airplane, the S-1, in 1951. The 23-year-old Snow completed test flights with

64-432: Is remembered as a quiet, generous, and kind-natured family man whose focus and determination built one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturing companies. Yet, for all his many accomplishments and busy schedule, Leland Snow always made time to visit with ag pilots who dropped by his office or National Agricultural Aviation Association meetings. His commitment to pilot safety and drift minimization programs helped improve

80-606: The AT-300 , which later became the AT-301, began in 1972. Air Tractor's first turbine model, the AT-302, was introduced in 1977. Sixteen years later (1993), Air Tractor delivered its 1,100th airplane and soon began expanding the Olney plant for increased capacity, and less than five years after that (1998), the 2,000th Snow-designed airplane was built there. Since then (1998), Air Tractor has produced

96-875: The Rockwell S-2R Thrush Commander . In 1977 the design was sold on the Ayres Corporation who produced it as the Ayres S-2R Thrush , and in 2003 after yet another transfer and further modifications, an aircraft based on the original Snow design saw it manufactured and sold as the Thrush Corporation 510 where it was still in production in 2024, over 60 years after its first flight. Meanwhile, back in 1970, with Rockwell's S-2R production moved to Georgia, Leland Snow resigned as Vice-President, allowing him to found Air Tractor Inc in 1972, back once again at Olney, Texas. His design for their first aircraft

112-654: The Snow Aeronautical Company and started production of the Snow S-2 at Olney, Texas . Snow sold the company to Rockwell-Standard in 1965, and as part of the deal became vice president of its Aero Commander division, manufacturers of a whole range of general aviation aircraft. Rockwell continued production at Olney for a while, initially marketing the aircraft as the S-2D Ag Commander , and with further improvements and production moved to Georgia, it became

128-882: The United States Department of State . This version, known as the Narcotics Eradication Delivery System (NEDS) featured an armored cockpit and engine to protect against hostile ground fire. Nine were sold to the Department of State between 1983 and 1985. Ayres also attempted to market a militarized version as the Ayres Vigilante , intended for the Close Air Support role, but this failed to attract customers. IOMAX USA of North Carolina, which had previously modified Air Tractor AT-802 agricultural aircraft as reconnaissance/attack aircraft, has developed

144-464: The Aero Commander brand, the S-2 was renamed the "Thrush Commander". In 1977, Rockwell sold off the production rights to the aircraft and the production facility at Albany, Georgia , which were purchased by Ayres Corporation, a firm which had been built on retro-fitting turboprop engines to Thrush Commanders. On June 30, 2003, Ayres' assets were purchased by Thrush Aircraft , the current producer of

160-825: The Archangel attack aircraft modeled on the S-2R-660. The United Arab Emirates has ordered 24 Archangels, with delivery from June 2015. Two Thrush 510Gs were modified to perform a counter-insurgency role by the Austrian company Airborne Technologies at the direction of Erik Prince , the former head of Blackwater , but in the absence of an export license the aircraft have not been used operationally. (per Simpson, 2005, p. 39) Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Leland Snow Leland Snow

176-614: The Model S-2R was developed and named the Thrush. The first 100 Thrush aircraft were built at the Olney Division before the plant was closed and Thrush production moved to Georgia in 1970. More than 500 aircraft were produced under Snow Aeronautical Corporation and Rockwell-Standard in Olney. Snow resigned from Rockwell and devoted the next two years designing the Air Tractor. Construction on

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192-576: The S-1 in 1953. Snow's S-1 flew dusting and spraying jobs in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and in Nicaragua until 1957. He followed up the S-1 with the models S-2A, S-2B and S-2C (now the Ayres Thrush ), which were produced in Olney, Texas fromn 1958. In 1965, Leland Snow sold his company to Rockwell-Standard and was appointed a vice president of the Aero Commander division. During this time,

208-632: The aircraft. The S-2 and its several variants have been purchased by agricultural spraying operators in many countries. Large numbers are operated in the United States and Australia, while other countries using the type include Costa Rica, France, Guyana, Iran, Israel, Jamaica, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Ayres developed a special anti-narcotics crop-spraying version of the Turbo-Thrush for

224-476: The entry level agricultural plane AT-402B is available only with turbine engine. On July 1, 2008 Air Tractor, Inc. became an employee-owned company with the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan . On February 20, 2011, at age 80, Leland Snow passed away while jogging near his home in Wichita Falls, Texas. His plans and notes for the next day’s engineering meeting were on his desk at home. Snow

240-553: Was an American aeronautical engineer known for designing and developing agricultural aircraft. He was the founder and president of both Snow Aeronautical (in 1956), and Air Tractor (1972). Snow began designing the Snow S-1 crop duster aircraft in 1951 when he was 21 years old. By 1953 the aircraft was completed and test flown, and Snow began dusting and spraying both in Texas and elsewhere. After four years of field trials, Snow founded

256-470: Was obviously influenced by his experience with the S-2, but the AT-300 required a new type certificate, awarded in 1973. Snow continued to expand the company and the range of aircraft produced, right up until his death on February 20, 2011, in Wichita Falls, Texas . This article about an American inventor is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Air Tractor Air Tractor Inc.

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