The Ayres LM200 Loadmaster was a small
cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger ...
developed in the 1990s 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, ...
largely for the needs of small-package carriers. In 1996, urged on by
Federal Express
FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
, development was begun, designed to carry four demi containers. The aircraft was to be powered by a
LHTEC CTP800-4T turboprop, which was composed of two CTP800s driving a single five-bladed Hamilton-Standard propeller through a combining gearbox. To support this development effort, Ayres acquired the LET aircraft manufacturing company in the Czech Republic in September 1998. In
2001, the company was forced into bankruptcy when creditors foreclosed on it, and the Loadmaster program was terminated.
Specifications (LM200, as designed)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
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External links
Flug-revue LM 200 page
Forecast International Archive - Ayres Loadmaster 200(a Microsoft Word document)
LM200
Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States
United States cargo aircraft
1990s United States civil aircraft
Single-engined turboprop aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
High-wing aircraft
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