Ayres Thrush

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The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2,<ref name="Macdonald">Macdonald, 1964. p.138.</ref> Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush 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 Template:Years ago years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat monoplane of conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a radial piston engine, most examples produced since the 1980s have been turboprop-powered.

Design and developmentEdit

File:Snow S-2A N4983C Santa Fe NM 19.06.97R.jpg

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

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.<ref name="Macdonald"/> In 1965, the corporation and all of its assets were purchased by the Aero Commander division of Rockwell, which put it into production alongside the CallAir A-9 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, 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, 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. This version, known as the Narcotics Eradication Delivery System (NEDS)<ref name="neds">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> featured an armored cockpit and engine to protect against hostile ground fire. Nine were sold to the Department of State between 1983 and 1985.<ref name="Janes 88 p328">J. W. R. Taylor 1988, p. 328.</ref> Ayres also attempted to market a militarized version as the Ayres Vigilante, intended for the Close Air Support role, but this failed to attract customers.<ref name="vigilante">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> IOMAX USA of North Carolina, which had previously modified Air Tractor AT-802 agricultural aircraft as reconnaissance/attack aircraft, has developed the Archangel attack aircraft modeled on the S-2R-660. The United Arab Emirates has ordered 24 Archangels, with delivery from June 2015.<ref name="AI217 p25,7">Ayton Air International February 2017, pp. 25, 27.</ref>

Two Thrush 510Gs were modified to perform a counter-insurgency role by the Austrian company Airborne Technologies at the direction of Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater, but in the absence of an export license the aircraft have not been used operationally.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

VariantsEdit

File:Aero Cdr Snow S2D N1796S LBG 03.06.67 edited-2.jpg

Aero Commander S-2D exhibited at the 1967 Paris Air Show

File:Ayers Turbo Thrush.jpg

Ayres S2R-T Thrush powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT-6 turboprop

File:AyersThrushC-GVVZ02.JPG

Ayres S-2R Thrush

File:Thrush510G.jpg

Model 510G

File:Paris Air Show 2017 Lasa Thrush 510G left front.jpg

510G armed by Bulgarian LASA Engineering

Snow AeronauticalEdit

(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 Template:Cvt Pratt & Whitney R-985 – 19 built.
S-2C: refined production version, wingspan increased Template:Convert<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> – 214 built.
S-2C-600: S-2C re-engined with Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1.
S-2D: Template:Cvt take-off weight – 105 built.

Aero CommanderEdit

S-2D Ag Commander

RockwellEdit

Thrush Commander 600
Thrush Commander 800: powered by Wright R-1300.

MarshEdit

S2R-T Turbo Thrush: Rockwell Thrush Commanders converted to turbine power by Marsh Aviation using Garrett AiResearch TPE331-1-101 engines.

AyresEdit

S-2R 1340: equivalent to Thrush Commander 600.
S-2R 1820
Bull Thrush
Pezetel Thrush: powered by PZL-3.
Template:Visible anchor: turboprop powered versions equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A.

V-1-A VigilanteEdit

Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A it could mount FLIR cameras and could carry up to 1,200 lbs of NATO standard weapons as well as gunpods on six under-wing pylons.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Thrush AircraftEdit

Thrush Model 400

Thrush Model 510G: General Electric H80 powered<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Thrush Model 510GR: Honeywell TPE331 powered<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Thrush Model 510P: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 powered<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Thrush Model 550: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG powered<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Thrush Model 710: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG powered<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Archangel: Thrush 550G modified as two-seat armed attack aircraft. Template:Convert PT6A-67F engine. Fitted with 6 hardpoints for Template:Convert of external stores.<ref name="ai217 p25,1">Ayton Air International February 2017, pp. 25, 31.</ref>