The Air Tractor AT-500 is a family of

agricultural aircraft An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles, they are referred to as "crop duste ...

that first flew in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 25 April

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, manufactured by Air Tractor Inc. Of

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

low-wing,

taildragger Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Term ...

configuration, they carry a chemical hopper between the engine

firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...

and the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, on the front part of an aircraft, spacecraft, or submersible, from which a pilot controls the vehicle. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the controls th ...

. Compared with their predecessor, the AT-500 family featured a wingspan increase of , and an additional

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

stretch of , allowing for a larger chemical hopper. Almost all variants offer a widened "buddy" seat or a

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

seat for a passenger, observer, or loader;

trainer aircraft A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

with full dual controls have also been offered. From 2011 through 2018, the AT-502B was the world's top-selling agricultural aircraft with 388 deliveries, while the combined AT-500 line (AT-502A, -502B, and -504) was among the world's most popular

fixed wing A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generates ...

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

single-

turboprop A turboprop is a Gas turbine, gas turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction drive, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propellin ...

aircraft families, with 470 delivered—a total exceeded only by the

Pilatus PC-12 The Pilatus PC-12 is a pressurized, single-engined, turboprop aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Stans, Switzerland since 1991. It was designed as a high-performance utility aircraft that incorporates a large aft cargo door in addi ...

and the

Cessna 208 Caravan The Cessna 208 Caravan is a utility aircraft produced by Cessna. The project was commenced on November 20, 1981, and the prototype first flew on December 9, 1982. The production model was certified by the FAA in October 1984 and its Cargoma ...

family during that time.

Variants

;AT-500:Prototype ;:Piston-powered version with

Pratt & Whitney R-1340 The Pratt & Whitney R-1340 Wasp is an aircraft engine of the reciprocating engine, reciprocating type that was widely used in United States, American aircraft from the 1920s onward. It was the Pratt & Whitney aircraft company's first engine, an ...

engine, one seat,

gross weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is a quantity associated with the gravitational force exerted on the object by other objects in its environment, although there is some variation and debate as to the exact definition. Some st ...

of ;:Upgraded AT-501 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-15AG or PT6A-34AG engine, one or two seats, gross weight of or depending on production date and

wing spar In a fixed-wing aircraft, the spar is often the main structural member of the wing, running spanwise at right angles (or thereabouts depending on wing sweep) to the fuselage. The spar carries flight loads and the weight of the wings while on ...

type ;AT-502A:

Hot and high In aviation, hot and high is a condition of low air density due to high ambient temperature and high airport elevation. Air density decreases with increasing temperature and altitude. The lower air density reduces the power output from an airc ...

version of AT-502 with PT6A-65AG or PT6A-60AG engine, one or two seats in

or side-by-side arrangement, gross weight of ;AT-502B:Main production version, development of AT-502 with PT6A-34AG engine, one or two seats in

or side-by-side arrangement, gross weight of ;AT-502XP:Updated AT-502A with PT6A-140AG engine ;:Production version with PT6A-45R engine,

seats, gross weight of ;AT-503A:AT-503 with PT6A-34AG engine, tandem seats dual controls, AT-501 wings ;AT-503T:Dual-control trainer version of AT-503 with shorter AT-401 wings, tandem seats ;:Dual-control trainer version of AT-502B with side-by-side seating, replaced tandem-seat AT-503 trainers, introduced 2009

Specifications (AT-502B)

Notes

References

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Bibliography

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External links

* http://www.airtractor.com/ {{Air Tractor aircraft AT-501 1980s United States agricultural aircraft Single-engined turboprop aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1986 Aircraft with fixed conventional landing gear