Ayres Thrush
{{short description|American agricultural aircraft}}
{{Infobox aircraft
|name = Thrush
|image = File:AyresThrushC-GVVZ.JPG
|caption = The radial engine powered Ayres S-2R Thrush
|type = Aerial application aircraft
|manufacturer = Ayres Corporation
Thrush Aircraft
|designer = Leland Snow
|first_flight = 1956
|introduction =
|retired =
|status = In production
|primary_user =
|more_users =
|produced = 1956-present
|number_built = less than 2,000
|program cost=
|unit cost =
|developed_from =
|variants =
}}
The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2,Macdonald, 1964. p.138. Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of the most successful and long-lived agricultural application aircraft types in the world, with almost 2,000 sold since the first example flew {{Years ago|1956}} years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat monoplane of conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a radial piston engine, most examples produced since the 1980s have been turboprop-powered.
Design and development
File:Snow S-2A N4983C Santa Fe NM 19.06.97R.jpg, June 1997, in pseudo-USAAF markings]]
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 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 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 the United States Department of State. This version, known as the Narcotics Eradication Delivery System (NEDS){{cite web | url=http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/stats.main?id=53 | title=The Ayres Thrush & Rockwell Thrush Commander | publisher=Airliners.net | access-date=December 11, 2012}}{{cite web|last1=Trevithick|first1=Joe|title=The U.S. State Department has its own air force. And it's surprisingly big.|url=http://theweek.com/articles/445676/state-department-air-force-surprisingly-big|website=The Week|publisher=The Week|access-date=4 August 2017}} featured an armored cockpit and engine to protect against hostile ground fire. Nine were sold to the Department of State between 1983 and 1985.J. W. R. Taylor 1988, p. 328. 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.{{cite web | url=http://www.timawa.net/modernization-paf.htm | title=AYRES V-1-A Vigilante as COIN Aircraft | publisher=Opus224's Unofficial Philippine Defense Page | access-date=December 11, 2012 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120624075916/http://www.timawa.net/modernization-paf.htm | archive-date=June 24, 2012 }} IOMAX USA of North Carolina, which had previously modified Air Tractor AT-802 agricultural aircraft as reconnaissance/attack aircraft, has developed the Archangel attack aircraft modeled on the S-2R-660. The United Arab Emirates has ordered 24 Archangels, with delivery from June 2015.Ayton Air International February 2017, pp. 25, 27.
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.{{cite news|last1=Scahill|first1=Jeremy|last2=Cole|first2=Matthew|title=Echo Papa Exposed|url=https://theintercept.com/2016/04/11/blackwater-founder-erik-prince-drive-to-build-private-air-force|access-date=31 January 2017|work=The Intercept|date=11 April 2016}}
Variants
=Snow Aeronautical=
(per Simpson, 2005, p. 39)
;S-1: initial prototype with open cockpit.
;S-2: pre-production version of S-1 – 3 built.
;S-2A: initial production version, powered by Continental engine – 73 built.
;S-2B: S-2 powered by {{cvt|450|hp|kW}} Pratt & Whitney R-985 – 19 built.
;S-2C: refined production version, wingspan increased {{convert|4|ft|6|in|m}}{{cite magazine |title=Snow S-2C Has Larger Wings, Ailerons |date=1964 |url=http://www.ebay.com/itm/154436682586 |accessdate=14 November 2022}} – 214 built.
;S-2C-600: S-2C re-engined with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1.
;S-2D: {{cvt|6,000|lb|kg}} take-off weight – 105 built.
=Aero Commander=
;S-2D Ag Commander:
=Rockwell=
;Thrush Commander 600:
;Thrush Commander 800: powered by Wright R-1300.
=Marsh=
;S2R-T Turbo Thrush: Rockwell Thrush Commanders converted to turbine power by Marsh Aviation using Garrett AiResearch TPE331-1-101 engines.
=Ayres=
;S-2R 1340: equivalent to Thrush Commander 600.
;S-2R 1820:
;Bull Thrush:
;Pezetel Thrush: powered by PZL-3.
;{{visible anchor|S-2R-T}}: turboprop powered versions equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A.
== V-1-A Vigilante ==
Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A it could mount FLIR cameras and could carry up to 1,200 lbs of NATO standard weapons as well as gunpods on six under-wing pylons.{{Cite journal |title=Low-Cost Mud-Fighter |journal=World Airpower Journal |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=22}}
=Thrush Aircraft=
;Thrush Model 400:
;Thrush Model 510G:General Electric H80 powered{{cite web|url=http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/510g.html|title=510G - Thrush Aircraft|author=Thrush Aircraft|work=thrushaircraft.com|access-date=8 December 2016}}
;Thrush Model 510GR:Honeywell TPE331 powered{{cite web|url=http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/510gr.html|title=510GR - Thrush Aircraft|author=Thrush Aircraft|work=thrushaircraft.com|access-date=8 December 2016}}
;Thrush Model 510P:Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 powered{{cite web|url=http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/510p.html|title=510P - Thrush Aircraft|first=Thrush|author=Thrush Aircraft|access-date=8 December 2016}}
;Thrush Model 550:Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG powered{{cite web|url=http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/550p-en.html|title=550P - Thrush Aircraft|author=Thrush Aircraft|work=thrushaircraft.com|access-date=8 December 2016|archive-date=21 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021185255/http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/550p-en.html|url-status=dead}}
;Thrush Model 710:Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG powered{{cite web|url=http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/710pen.html|title=710P - Thrush Aircraft|author=Thrush Aircraft|work=thrushaircraft.com|access-date=8 December 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220182607/http://www.thrushaircraft.com/en/aircraft/710pen.html|url-status=dead}}
;Archangel: Thrush 550G modified as two-seat armed attack aircraft. {{convert|1600|shp|kW|abbr=on}} PT6A-67F engine. Fitted with 6 hardpoints for {{convert|6000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} of external stores.Ayton Air International February 2017, pp. 25, 31.
Specifications (Thrush Commander 600)
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77 Taylor 1976, p.379.
|prime units?=imp
|genhide=
|crew=one
|capacity=
- {{convert|400|USgal|impgal L|abbr=on}} liquids or
- {{convert|3280|lb|kg|abbr=on}} dry chemicals
|length m=
|length ft=29
|length in=2
|span m=
|span ft=44
|span in=4
|height m=
|height ft=9
|height in=2
|wing area sqm=
|wing area sqft=326.6
|empty weight kg=
|empty weight lb=3700
|gross weight kg=
|max takeoff weight lb=6900
|fuel capacity={{convert|106|USgal|impgal L|abbr=on}}
|eng1 number=1
|eng1 name=Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp
|eng1 type=9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
|eng1 kw=
|eng1 hp=600
|prop blade number=2
|prop name=Hamilton-Standard 12D40 metal constant speed propeller
|prop dia m=
|prop dia ft=
|prop dia in=
|perfhide=
|max speed kmh=
|max speed mph=140
|max speed kts=
|cruise speed kmh=
|cruise speed mph=124
|cruise speed note=(70% power)
|stall speed mph=66
|stall speed note=(at {{convert|6000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}, flaps down)
|range km=
|ferry range miles=403
|ferry range note=(70% power)
|range nmi=
|ceiling m=
|ceiling ft=15000
|climb rate ms=
|climb rate ftmin=900
|more performance=
|avionics=
}}
See also
{{Aircontent
|related=
|similar aircraft=
- Aero Boero 260AG
- Air Tractor AT-300
- Air Tractor AT-802
- CallAir A-9
- Cessna 188
- Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema
- Grumman Ag Cat
- PAC Cresco
- PAC Fletcher
- Piper PA-25 Pawnee
- PZL-106 Kruk
- Zlin Z-37 Cmelak
|see also
}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Bibliography
{{Refbegin}}
- Ayton, Mark. "Archangel: Crop Duster to Tank Buster". Air International, Vol. 92, No. 2, February 2017. pp. 24–33. {{ISSN|0306-5634}}.
- Green, William. Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
- Simpson, Rod. The General Aviation Handbook. Midland Publishing. 2005. {{ISBN|1-85780-222-5}}.
- Taylor, John W R. (editor). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. {{ISBN|0-354-00538-3}}.
- Taylor, John W R. (editor). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988. {{ISBN|0-7106-0867-5}}.
{{Refend}}
External links
{{Commons category|Ayres Thrush}}
- {{official website|https://www.thrushaircraft.com/en}}
- {{cite web |url= http://www.airliners.net/aircraft-data/ayres-thrush-rockwell-thrush-commander/53 |website= Airliners.net |title= Ayres Thrush}}
- {{cite news |url= http://aviationweek.com/defense/coin-machine-flying-iomax-archangel |title= COIN Machine: Flying The Iomax Archangel |date= Apr 5, 2017 |author= Joe F. Edwards |work= Aviation Week & Space Technology}}
{{Ayres aircraft}}
{{Aero Commander aircraft}}
Category:1950s United States agricultural aircraft
Category:Single-engined tractor aircraft
Category:Aircraft first flown in 1956
Category:Aero Commander aircraft