The PAC Cresco is a

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

-powered derivative of the

Fletcher FU-24 The Fletcher FU-24 is an agricultural aircraft made in New Zealand. One of the first aircraft designed for aerial topdressing, the Fletcher has also been used for other aerial applications as a utility aircraft, and for sky diving. Design and ...

(later called the PAC Fletcher)

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 ...

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

, manufactured by the Pacific Aerospace Corporation in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton ( mi, Kirikiriroa) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's fou ...

. The Cresco was superseded by the

PAC P-750 XSTOL The PAC P-750 XSTOL, (formerly known as the PAC 750XL) is a utility aircraft of conventional all-metal low-wing monoplane design, with fixed tricycle undercarriage. Combining the engine and wings of the PAC Cresco with a new large fuselage and ...

in the early 21st century, but in 2019 was returned to production with the first new aircraft being completed 3 December 2020.

Design and development

The Cresco is a

low-wing monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...

which, like the Fletcher but unlike most topdressers, has

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ge ...

and places the cabin forward of the

hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places *Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People with the name * Hopper (surname) * Grace H ...

, at the

leading edge The leading edge of an airfoil surface such as a wing is its foremost edge and is therefore the part which first meets the oncoming air.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, ...

of the wing - which gives the pilot of the Cresco a good field of vision. The high-lift wing has pronounced dihedral on the outer span. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...

Cresco (ZK-LTP) had an all-moving tailplane, but was lost when the tailplane separated in flight, (the pilot parachuting to safety). Subsequent aircraft have had conventional tails. Sales of the Cresco were not as impressive as those of the piston-engine powered Fletcher, with only 39 examples being built before production was terminated. The Cresco has been sold in several countries and has pioneered new utility roles not explored by the Fletcher. Although used primarily to spread

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 ...

fertiliser A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...

, the Cresco is also used in the utility role, especially as a

skydiving Parachuting, including also skydiving, is a method of transiting from a high point in the atmosphere to the surface of Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or parachutes. For ...

platform, where its fast

rate of climb In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...

() has made it popular, and as a firefighting

water bomber Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

, a role it can perform with little alteration from its standard agricultural layout. One aircraft has been converted for

aeromagnetic survey An aeromagnetic survey is a common type of geophysical survey carried out using a magnetometer aboard or towed behind an aircraft. The principle is similar to a magnetic survey carried out with a hand-held magnetometer, but allows much larger ar ...

. A disadvantage in the utility role is the low internal volume available for the relatively high-powered engine. PAC Cresco in flight in topdressing duty

PAC Cresco in flight in topdressing duty

The Cresco is normally flown by a single pilot, but has a second seat in all versions. It can carry nine sky divers. Usual powerplant is a

Pratt & Whitney Canada Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC or P&WC) is a Canada-based aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), itself a business unit of ...

PT6-34AG. The PAC 750XL, a utility aircraft was derived from the Cresco, and retains its high-lift wing. As of January 2019 120 PAC 750XL's have been produced and it remains in high demand as an uncompromising utility aircraft able to operate in hot and high conditions. Underside plan view of PAC Cresco

Cresco II

On 17 December 2019 Pacific Aerospace posted on Facebook an announcement by CEO Mark Crouch that the type would return to production as the Cresco II, with some modifications regarding pilot safety and comfort, for the New Zealand customer Rural Air Work Ltd.

Variants

;Cresco 08-600 :Initial production version, powered by 447 kW (600 shp) Lycoming LTP 101-700A-1A engine.Jackson 2003, p. 322. ;Cresco 08-750 :More powerful version with 559 kW (750 shp) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34AG engine. Production from 1992. ;Cresco II :Improved cockpit sealing and air conditioning, more use of P-750 components, a carbon fiber engine cowl, and an EFIS avionics setup. Production from 2019.

Specifications (Cresco 08-600)

References

* Ewing, Ross and MacPherson, Ross ''The History of New Zealand Aviation'', Heinemann, 1986 * Geelen, Janic ''The Topdressers'' NZ Aviation Press. Te Awamutu, 1983. * Jackson, Paul. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003-2004''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group. . * Knowles, Alan, ''New Zealand Aircraft'', IPL Books, Wellington, 1990. * Taylor, John W. R. (editor). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data. .

External links