The Auster B8 Agricola was a commercially unsuccessful
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
agricultural aircraft
An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles they are referred to as "crop duster ...
designed for the
aerial topdressing
Aerial topdressing is the aerial application of fertilisers over farmland using agricultural aircraft. It was developed in New Zealand in the 1940s and rapidly adopted elsewhere in the 1950s.
Origins
Previous aerial applications
The first k ...
market which opened up in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the early 1950s.
Design
Constructed of fabric over a corrosion-proofed steel frame, the design featured a large high-lift low-set monoplane wing, external control cables, fixed tailwheel undercarriage and a somewhat angular fuselage. It had an aft cabin that could seat two passengers, a hopper over the centre of the wing which could hold 750 kg of
superphosphate Triple superphosphate is a component of fertilizer that primarily consists of monocalcium phosphate, Ca(H2PO4)2. Triple superphosphate is obtained by treating phosphate rock with phosphoric acid. Traditional routes for extraction of phosphate rock ...
in the topdressing role, or 654 litres of spray as a
crop duster
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...
. The pilot sat forward of the hopper over the wing leading edge, a position which gave a good field of view compared with the American practice of placing the pilot behind the hopper, though this view was somewhat restricted by the extensive canopy joinery and bulky rear decking.
The Agricola's handling was generally described favourably, particularly its slow speed performance and controls, while its rugged and simple construction allowed for easy maintenance and repair. The aircraft was utilitarian rather than attractive; one website has short-listed the Agricola in a competition for the ugliest aircraft of all time. The type was first flown in 1955.
It was out-competed in its target market by the
PAC Fletcher Pac or PAC may refer to:
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and attempts to sell the type for
aerial application
Aerial application, or what is informally referred to as crop dusting, involves spraying crops with crop protection products from an agricultural aircraft. Planting certain types of seed are also included in aerial application. The specific sp ...
work in
Britain
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,
Australia
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and
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met with little success. Only nine were made before production ceased. Of these ''ZK-BXO'', is the sole survivor. Restored by John Stephenson of
Whitianga
Whitianga is a town on the Coromandel Peninsula, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located on Mercury Bay, on the northeastern coast of the peninsula. The town has a permanent population of as of making it the ...
, it was operated for many years by him as both a historic aircraft and personal transport. BXO was sold to the UK in 2005 and re-registered as ''G-CBOA''. In March 2016, the aircraft was once again sold to New Zealand.
Specifications (Auster Agricola)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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External links
New Zealand forum discussionG-INFO database entry for G-CBOA
{{Auster aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
1950s British agricultural aircraft
Auster aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1955