Photograph:
Transland AG-2 N8330H in 2012 in New Zealand (Ray Deerness)
Country of origin:
United States of America
Description:
Single-seat agricultural monoplane
Power Plant:
One 448 kw (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S3H1 Wasp nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine
Specifications:
- Wingspan: 12.8 m (42 ft)
- Length: 8.66 m (28 ft 5 in)
- Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
- Wing area: 29.87 m² (321.6 sq ft)
- Max speed: 229 km/h (142 mph)
- Cruising speed at 75% power: 209 km/h (130 mph)
- Cruising speed at 50% power: 153 km/h (95 mph)
- Stalling speed flaps down: 90 km/h (56 mph)
- Service ceiling: 4,630 m (15,200 ft)
- Initial rate of climb: 274 m/min (900 ft/min)
- Range: 732 km (455 miles)
- Empty weight: 1,245 kg (2,745 lb)
- Loaded weight: 2,722 kg (6,000 lb)
- Max weight: 3,493 kg (7,700 lb)
- Normal payload: 912 kg (2,011 lb)
- Agricultural payload: 1,609 kg (3,547 lb)
History:
For some years after World War II the Transland Aircraft Company of Torrance, California, a division of Hi Shear Rivet Tool Co, converted surplus World War II aircraft, particularly trainers, for the crop-dusting role. After World War II Frederick E Weick took up teaching at the Texas A & M University and designed a monoplane crop-duster as a class-room project. In 1950, in conjunction with the college, he designed the Ercoupe, and also designed and developed the AG-1, which was built in Texas as the Piper Pawnee. He later designed the Piper Cherokee for Piper Aircraft.
Subsequently in 1954 in California he developed the AG-1 to the AG-2, utilizing equipment of a specialised nature which included rotary hopper gates, agitators and pumps. Most of the equipment was designed by Transland. Two complete and separate dispersion systems were built into the airframe, a Liquid Spray System and a Swathmaster System, one to deal with fluids and the other with powders. Switching from one system to the other was simple. The powder was carried in a fuselage hopper able to carry 907 kg (2,000 lb) and the fluids in four tanks mounted in the inner wing panels. Total fluid capacity was 473 litres (104 Imp gals). A Transland Boom Master pump and liquid system with a swathe width of 24 to 30 metres (80 ft to 100 ft) was installed, together with a Transland developed dry materials dispensing system.
Construction was an all-metal semi-monocoque structure of riveted 24ST aluminium alloy, the internals of the fuselage being coated with zinc-chromate. The wing was a cantilever all-metal structure, it being a low-wing monoplane with an NACA64001 section.
The prototype (N8330H) was first flown at Torrance on 11 October 1956 with a 336 kw (450 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-985 Wasp Junior radial engine and test flying was performed on this machine. The second aircraft (N8331H) was fitted with a 448 kw (600 hp) Pratt & Whitney R-1340 to increase payload to 1,588 kg (3,500 lb), the Type Certificate being awarded on 24 June 1958. The cockpit was situated over the wing trailing edge, and provision was made for a second seat for carriage of a machine operator. A third (N8232H) machine was built in 1959 in Panama. However, this aircraft crashed and was desroyed whilst spraying bananas in the Panama on 5 August 1963.
In 1965 plans were resurrected to place the type back into production but this does not seem to have occurred.
In 2003 a New Zealand operator imported an example (N8330H) from Uruguay where it had been operated, firstly by Charles Chalking (as CX-AYC), later by Azucarera de Litorial SA of Paysandu, and later again by Trientey Tres. It last operated in 1991/92 and was then parked for a number of years before being dismantled and placed in storage. Subsequently work proceeded to restore the aircraft, joining a small fleet of vintage agricultural aircraft in a private museum.