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Ayres Thrush

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Thrush
Theradial enginepowered Ayres S-2R Thrush
Role Aerial applicationaircraft
Manufacturer Ayres Corporation
Thrush Aircraft
Designer Leland Snow
First flight 1956
Status In production
Produced 1956-present
Number built less than 2,000

TheAyres Thrush,formerly theSnow S-2,[1]Aero Commander Ag Commander,andRockwell Thrush Commander,is an Americanagricultural aircraftproduced byAyres Corporationand more recently byThrush 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 68 years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seatmonoplaneofconventional taildragger configuration.Originally powered by aradial piston engine,most examples produced since the 1980s have beenturboprop-powered.

Design and development[edit]

Early Snow S-2A of 1959 with open cockpit and roll-over protection bar atSanta Fe, New Mexico,June 1997, in pseudo-USAAF markings

The Thrush, designed byLeland Snow,first flew in 1956 and before long was being produced in series as the S-2 by the company he founded,Snow Aeronautical.[1]In 1965, the corporation and all of its assets were purchased by theAero Commanderdivision ofRockwell,which put it into production alongside theCallAir A-9that 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 atAlbany, 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 byThrush 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 theUnited States Department of State.This version, known as the Narcotics Eradication Delivery System (NEDS)[2][3]featured an armored cockpit and engine to protect against hostile ground fire. Nine were sold to the Department of State between 1983 and 1985.[4]Ayres also attempted to market a militarized version as theAyres Vigilante,intended for theClose Air Supportrole, but this failed to attract customers.[5]IOMAX USA of North Carolina, which had previously modifiedAir Tractor AT-802agricultural aircraft as reconnaissance/attack aircraft, has developed the Archangel attack aircraft modeled on the S-2R-660. TheUnited Arab Emirateshas ordered 24 Archangels, with delivery from June 2015.[6]

Two Thrush 510Gs were modified to perform acounter-insurgencyrole by the Austrian company Airborne Technologies at the direction ofErik Prince,the former head ofBlackwater,but in the absence of an export license the aircraft have not been used operationally.[7]

Variants[edit]

Aero Commander S-2D exhibited at the 1967Paris Air Show
Ayres S2R-T Thrush powered by aPratt & Whitney Canada PT-6turboprop
Ayres S-2R Thrush
Model 510G
510G armed by Bulgarian LASA Engineering

Snow Aeronautical[edit]

(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 450 hp (340 kW)Pratt & Whitney R-985– 19 built.
S-2C
refined production version, wingspan increased 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m)[8]– 214 built.
S-2C-600
S-2C re-engined withPratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1.
S-2D
6,000 lb (2,700 kg) take-off weight – 105 built.

Aero Commander[edit]

S-2D Ag Commander

Rockwell[edit]

Thrush Commander 600
Thrush Commander 800
powered byWright R-1300.

Marsh[edit]

S2R-T Turbo Thrush
Rockwell Thrush Commanders converted to turbine power byMarsh AviationusingGarrett AiResearch TPE331-1-101engines.

Ayres[edit]

S-2R 1340
equivalent to Thrush Commander 600.
S-2R 1820
Bull Thrush
Pezetel Thrush
powered byPZL-3.
S-2R-T
turboprop powered versions equipped withPratt & Whitney Canada PT6A.

Thrush Aircraft[edit]

Thrush Model 400
Thrush Model 510G
General Electric H80powered[9]
Thrush Model 510GR
Honeywell TPE331powered[10]
Thrush Model 510P
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34powered[11]
Thrush Model 550
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AGpowered[12]
Thrush Model 710
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AGpowered[13]
Archangel
Thrush 550G modified as two-seat armed attack aircraft. 1,600 shp (1,200 kW) PT6A-67F engine. Fitted with 6 hardpoints for 6,000 lb (2,700 kg) of external stores.[14]

Specifications (Thrush Commander 600)[edit]

Data fromJane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77[15]

General characteristics

  • Crew:one
  • Capacity:
    • 400 US gal (330 imp gal; 1,500 L) liquidsor
    • 3,280 lb (1,490 kg) dry chemicals
  • Length:29 ft 2 in (8.89 m)
  • Wingspan:44 ft 4 in (13.51 m)
  • Height:9 ft 2 in (2.79 m)
  • Wing area:326.6 sq ft (30.34 m2)
  • Empty weight:3,700 lb (1,678 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight:6,900 lb (3,130 kg)
  • Fuel capacity:106 US gal (88 imp gal; 400 L)
  • Powerplant:1 ×Pratt & Whitney R-1340Wasp 9-cylinder air-cooledradial engine,600 hp (450 kW)
  • Propellers:2-bladed Hamilton-Standard 12D40 metalconstant speed propeller

Performance

  • Maximum speed:140 mph (230 km/h, 120 kn)
  • Cruise speed:124 mph (200 km/h, 108 kn) (70% power)
  • Stall speed:66 mph (106 km/h, 57 kn) (at 6,000 lb (2,700 kg), flaps down)
  • Ferry range:403 mi (649 km, 350 nmi) (70% power)
  • Service ceiling:15,000 ft (4,600 m)
  • Rate of climb:900 ft/min (4.6 m/s)

See also[edit]

Related development

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

References[edit]

  1. ^abMacdonald, 1964. p.138.
  2. ^"The Ayres Thrush & Rockwell Thrush Commander".Airliners.net.RetrievedDecember 11,2012.
  3. ^Trevithick, Joe."The U.S. State Department has its own air force. And it's surprisingly big".The Week.The Week.Retrieved4 August2017.
  4. ^J. W. R. Taylor 1988, p. 328.
  5. ^"AYRES V-1-A Vigilante as COIN Aircraft".Opus224's Unofficial Philippine Defense Page. Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2012.RetrievedDecember 11,2012.
  6. ^AytonAir InternationalFebruary 2017, pp. 25, 27.
  7. ^Scahill, Jeremy; Cole, Matthew (11 April 2016)."Echo Papa Exposed".The Intercept.Retrieved31 January2017.
  8. ^"Snow S-2C Has Larger Wings, Ailerons".1964.Retrieved14 November2022.{{cite magazine}}:Cite magazine requires|magazine=(help)
  9. ^Thrush Aircraft."510G - Thrush Aircraft".thrushaircraft.Retrieved8 December2016.
  10. ^Thrush Aircraft."510GR - Thrush Aircraft".thrushaircraft.Retrieved8 December2016.
  11. ^Thrush Aircraft, Thrush."510P - Thrush Aircraft".Retrieved8 December2016.
  12. ^Thrush Aircraft."550P - Thrush Aircraft".thrushaircraft.Archived fromthe originalon 21 October 2016.Retrieved8 December2016.
  13. ^Thrush Aircraft."710P - Thrush Aircraft".thrushaircraft.Archived fromthe originalon 20 December 2016.Retrieved8 December2016.
  14. ^AytonAir InternationalFebruary 2017, pp. 25, 31.
  15. ^Taylor 1976, p.379.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Ayton, Mark. "Archangel: Crop Duster to Tank Buster".Air International,Vol. 92, No. 2, February 2017. pp. 24–33.ISSN0306-5634.
  • Green, William.Aircraft Handbook.London. Macdonald & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 1964.
  • Simpson, Rod.The General Aviation Handbook.Midland Publishing. 2005.ISBN1-85780-222-5.
  • Taylor, John W R. (editor).Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1976-77.London: Jane's Yearbooks, 1976.ISBN0-354-00538-3.
  • Taylor, John W R. (editor).Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89.Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1988.ISBN0-7106-0867-5.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toAyres Thrush.
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