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
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 ...
produced by
Ayres Corporation
Ayres Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer owned and run by Fred Ayres.
History
In 1977, Ayres bought the Albany, Georgia division of Rockwell International, which made the S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft. Before this, A ...
and more recently by
Thrush Aircraft
Thrush Aircraft, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Albany, Georgia. It currently manufactures the Thrush series of agricultural aircraft.
History
Rockwell International originally built the facility in 1965 and operated it unt ...
. 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. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat
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 ...
of
conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a
radial piston engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is cal ...
, most examples produced since the 1980s have been
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.
Design and development
![Snow S-2A N4983C Santa Fe NM 19](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Snow_S-2A_N4983C_Santa_Fe_NM_19.06.97R.jpg)
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
Snow Aeronautical was an American aircraft manufacturer established in 1956 in Olney, Texas by Leland Snow to manufacture and market agricultural aircraft of his design.
History
Leland Snow, a graduate of the aeronautical engineering program a ...
.
In 1965, the corporation and all of its assets were purchased by the
Aero Commander
Aero Commander was an aircraft manufacturer formed in 1944. In subsequent years, it became a subsidiary of Rockwell International and Gulfstream Aerospace. The company ceased aircraft production in 1986.
History
Aero was formed in Culver City, C ...
division of
Rockwell, which put it into production alongside the
CallAir A-9
: ''For the USAF unmanned Quail drone aircraft, see ADM-20 Quail.''
The IMCO CallAir A-9 is a small agricultural aircraft that first flew in 1962, a development of the company's previous successful crop-dusters. It is typical of aircraft of it ...
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
Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the 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
Thrush Aircraft, Inc. is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Albany, Georgia. It currently manufactures the Thrush series of agricultural aircraft.
History
Rockwell International originally built the facility in 1965 and operated it unt ...
, 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
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
. 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.
[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
In military tactics, close air support (CAS) is defined as air action such as air strikes by fixed or rotary-winged aircraft against hostile targets near friendly forces and require detailed integration of each air mission with fire and moveme ...
role, but this failed to attract customers.
IOMAX USA of North Carolina, which had previously modified
Air Tractor AT-802
The Air Tractor AT-802 is an American agricultural aircraft that may also be adapted into fire-fighting or armed versions. It first flew in the United States in October 1990 and is manufactured by Air Tractor The AT-802 carries a chemical hopper ...
agricultural aircraft as reconnaissance/attack aircraft, has developed the Archangel attack aircraft modeled on the S-2R-660. The
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
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
Counterinsurgency (COIN) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the activities of guerrillas or revolutionar ...
role by the Austrian company Airborne Technologies at the direction of
Erik Prince
Erik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and the founder of the private military company Blackwater. He served as Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and as its chairman until its sale to a group ...
, the former head of
Blackwater, but in the absence of an export license the aircraft have not been used operationally.
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
Pratt & Whitney R-985
The Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior is a series of nine-cylinder, air-cooled, radial aircraft engines built by the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company from the 1930s to the 1950s. These engines have a displacement of ; initial versions produced , ...
– 19 built.
;S-2C: refined production version, wingspan increased – 214 built.
;S-2C-600: S-2C re-engined with
Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1
The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating type that was widely used in American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, and the first of the famed Wasp series ...
.
;S-2D: take-off weight – 105 built.
Aero Commander
;S-2D Ag Commander:
Rockwell
;Thrush Commander 600:
;Thrush Commander 800: powered by
Wright R-1300
The Wright R-1300 Cyclone 7 is an American air-cooled seven-cylinder supercharged radial aircraft engine produced by Curtiss-Wright.
Design and development
The R-1300 is basically a single row Wright R-2600. The engine was mass-produced but n ...
.
Marsh
;S2R-T Turbo Thrush: Rockwell Thrush Commanders converted to turbine power by
Marsh Aviation
Marsh Aviation is an aircraft engineering, design, maintenance and re-manufacturing company, situated on East Falcon Drive, at Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. The company often works as a sub-contractor to well-known brand-name aerospace compan ...
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
The Ivchenko AI-26 is a seven-cylinder air-cooled radial engine used in early Soviet helicopters and later used in light utility aircraft.
Design and development
The AI-26 engine was designed by A.G Ivchenko in 1945 with the early designation M ...
.
;: turboprop powered versions equipped with
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...
.
Thrush Aircraft
;Thrush Model 400:
;Thrush Model 510G:
General Electric H80
The General Electric H-Series is a family of turboprop aircraft engines produced by GE BGA Turboprops. The initial H80 is an updated derivative of the Walter M601, while the H75 and H85 are later derivatives.
Development
The H80 was launched ...
powered
;Thrush Model 510GR:
Honeywell TPE 331 powered
;Thrush Model 510P:
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34
The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada.
Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously upda ...
powered
;Thrush Model 550:
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG powered
;Thrush Model 710:
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG powered
;Archangel: Thrush 550G modified as two-seat armed attack aircraft. PT6A-67F engine. Fitted with 6 hardpoints for of external stores.
[Ayton ''Air International'' February 2017, pp. 25, 31.]
Specifications (Thrush Commander 600)
See also
References
Bibliography
* Ayton, Mark. "Archangel: Crop Duster to Tank Buster". ''
Air International
''AIR International'' is a British aviation magazine covering current defence aerospace and civil aviation topics. It has been in publication since 1971 and is currently published by Key Publishing Ltd.
History and profile
The magazine was fir ...
'', Vol. 92, No. 2, February 2017. pp. 24–33. .
* Green, William. ''Aircraft Handbook''. London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
* Simpson, Rod. ''The General Aviation Handbook''. Midland Publishing. 2005. .
*Taylor, John W R. (editor). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77''. London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976. .
*Taylor, John W R. (editor). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89''. Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988. .
External links
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{{Aero Commander aircraft
Thrush
1950s United States agricultural aircraft
Thrush
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Low-wing aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1956