- Ayres Thrush
infobox Aircraft
name = Thrush
type =Aerial application aircraft
manufacturer =Ayres Corporation
caption = Theradial engine powered Ayres S-2R Thrush
designer = Leland Snow
first flight = 1956
introduction =
retired =
status =
primary user =
more users =
produced =
number built = less than 2,000
program cost=
unit cost =
developed from =
variants with their own articles = The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2,Macdonald, 1964. p.138.] the Aero Commander Ag Commander and the Rockwell Thrush Commander, is one of the most successful and long-livedagricultural aircraft in the world. Nearly 2,000 have been sold since the first example flew almost fifty years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat low-wing monoplane of conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a radial piston engine, most examples produced since the 1980s have beenturboprop -powered.Design and development
The Thrush was designed by
Leland Snow and first flew in 1956, and before long was being produced in series as the S-2 by the company he founded,Snow Aeronautical . Macdonald, 1964. p.138.] In 1965, the corporation and all its assets were purchased by the Aero Commander division ofRockwell , which put it into production alongside theCallAir A-9 that it had also acquired, branding both unrelated (though similar) machines as "Ag Commanders". When Rockwell dropped 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. OnJune 30 ,2003 , Ayres' assets were purchased byThrush Aircraft , the current producer of the aircraft.Ayres also attempted to market a militarised version as the Ayres Vigilante, intended for the
Close Air Support role, but this failed to attract customers. cite web|url = http://worldatwar.net/chandelle/v3/v3n3/articles/ayres.html|title = Combat Crop Dusters: the Turbo-Thrush NEDS and the V-1-A Vigilante|accessdate = 2008-08-03|last = Johnson |first = Robert Craig|authorlink = |year = 1998]Variants
now Aeronautical
* S-2A - single prototype, powered by
Pratt & Whitney R-985
* S-2B - initial production version
* S-2C - refined production version
* S-2C-600 - S-2C re-engined withPratt & Whitney R-1340 -AN1
* S-2DAero Commander
* S-2D Ag Commander
Rockwell
* Thrush Commander 600
* Thrush Commander 800 - powered byWright R-1300 Marsh
* S2R-T Turbo Thrush - Rockwell Thrush Commanders converted to turbine power by
Marsh Aviation usingGarrett-AiResearch TPE 331 -1-101 enginesAyres
* S-2R 1340 - equivalent to Thrush Commander 600
* S-2R 1820 or Bull Thrush
* Pezetel Thrush - powered byPZL-3
* S-2R-T - turboprop powered versions equipped withPratt & Whitney Canada PT6 pecifications (Thrush Commander 600)
General characteristics
* Crew: one pilot
* Capacity: 370 US gal (1,514 l) or 3,270 lb (1,487 kg) of chemicals
* Length: 29 ft 5 in (8.95 m)
* Wingspan: 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m)
* Height: 9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
* Wing area: 326 ft² (30.3 m²)
* Empty: 3,700 lb (1,680 kg)
* Loaded: lb ( kg)
* Maximum takeoff: 6,000 lb (2,720 kg)
* Powerplant: 1xPratt & Whitney R-1340 , 600 hp (450 kW)Performance
* Maximum speed: 140 mph (225 km/h)
* Range: 405 miles (648 km)
* Service ceiling: ft ( m)
* Rate of climb: 900 ft/min (225 m/min)
* Wing loading: lb/ft² ( kg/m²)
* Power/Mass: hp/lb ( kW/kg)References
Bibliography
* Green, William. "Aircraft Handbook". London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
Related content
Related development:
*Snow S-1
*PZL-Mielec M-18 Dromader Comparable aircraft:
*Cessna 188
*Grumman Ag Cat
*PAC Cresco
*PAC Fletcher
*PZL-106 Kruk
*Zlin Z-37 Cmelak External links
* [http://www.airliners.net/info/stats.main?id=53 Airliners.net Ayres Thrush]
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