Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Single-seat agricultural monoplane

Power Plant:

One 448 kw (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine

Specifications:

History:

This series of agricultural aircraft has received a number of appellations over the years, being known as the Snow Commander, Ayres, Marsh, Thrush, Aero Commander Ag Commander and the Rockwell Thrush Commander.  It was a low-wing agricultural aircraft designed by Leland Snow, the prototype making its first flight in 1956. More than 2,000 examples were built.  It was a conventional aircraft with a tailwheel undercarriage powered for many years by a range of Pratt & Whitney radial engines to meet operator demands and eventually in the 1980s it was fitted with turboprop power.

The S-2 series first entered production in the late 1950s with Mr Snow’s company, Snow Aeronautical, but in 1965 the Company was acquired by the Aero Commander Division of Rockwell and was produced alongside the Callair A-9 series. In due course the S-2 was renamed the Thrush Commander but in 1977 the production facility and rights to the aircraft at Albany, Georgia were acquired by the Ayres Corporation, which Company continued it in production and eventually commenced retro-fitting examples with turboprop engines.

In June 2003 rights to the aircraft were purchased by Thrush Aircraft.  Models produced were for a range of requirements, including special anti-narcotics operations for the US Department of State and this model was known as the NEDS [Narcotics Eradication Delivery System].  One variant was aimed at the Close Air Support role for military use, known as the Vigilante, but this model did not go into production.

Models developed were the S-1, with an open cockpit; the pre-production S-2 of which three were built; the S-2A with a Continental engine; the S-2B with a Pratt & Whitney R-985 radial engine, of which 19 were built; the S-2C, a refined model of which 214 were built; the S-2C-600 with the Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1 engine; and the S-2D with an increased take-off weight, 105 being delivered.  Further models were the S-2D Ag Commander; Thrush Commander 600; Thrush Commander 800 with a Wright R-1300 engine; and Ayres S-2R 1340, S-2R 1820 and then the turbine powered models.

The type was operated by AgAv which company imported the first S-2D to Australia in 1966. The S-2D was popular in Australia and New Zealand, operating with operators such as Rowley Aviation of Amberley, QLD Adastra, Central Aviation etc.  Some at the end of their lives were exported; others broken up.

New Zealand registered aircraft included ZK-CPG (c/n 1312D) which crashed at Taupo in December 1968; ZK-CPH (c/n 1313D) retired at Hamilton in 1974 and exported to Israel as 4X-AWN;  ZK-CPK (c/n 1319D) retired at Hamilton and exported to Israel as 4X-AWU; ZK-CPL (c/n 1320D) retired in 1978 and exported to Israel as 4X-AWF; ZK-CPV (c/n 1359D – ex ZK-CTL, N1759S) exported to Australia as VH-AGT and written off in March 1981; ZK-CTK (c/n 1362D – ex N175BS), which registration was not taken up, which became ZK-CPQ and was exported to Israel as 4X-AWW.

A couple of S-2D-600s were also operated in Australia. VH-FON (c/n 1343D) was registered in September 1966 but was lost in an accident on 7 December 1975 at Ararat, VIC. VH-GCN (c/n 2348D) was registered in September 1966 but stalled and crashed on 14 May 1980 at Boggabilla, NSW.  Another example became VH-LGZ (c/n 1376D) registered to its owner at Bacchus Marsh, VIC in October 1998, having been manufactured in 1967.