The Ayres LM200 Loadmaster was a small
cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft generally feature one or more large door ...
developed in the 1990s by
Ayres Corporation
Ayres Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer owned and run by Fred Ayres.
History
In 1977, Ayres bought the Albany, Georgia division of Rockwell International, which made the Ayres Thrush, S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft. B ...
largely for the needs of small-package carriers. In 1996, urged on by
Federal Express
FedEx Corporation, originally known as Federal Express Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company specializing in transportation, e-commerce, and business services. The company is headquartered in Memphis, Tenness ...
, development was begun, designed to carry four demi containers. The aircraft was to be powered by a
LHTEC CTP800-4T turboprop, which was composed of two CTP800s driving a single five-bladed Hamilton-Standard propeller through a combining gearbox. To support this development effort, Ayres acquired the
LET aircraft manufacturing company in the Czech Republic in September 1998. In
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, the company was forced into bankruptcy when creditors foreclosed on it, and the Loadmaster program was terminated.
Specifications (LM200, as designed)
See also
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
External links
Flug-revue LM 200 page
Forecast International Archive - Ayres Loadmaster 200(a Microsoft Word document)
LM200
Abandoned civil aircraft projects of the United States
United States cargo aircraft
1990s United States civil aircraft
Single-engined turboprop aircraft
Single-engined tractor aircraft
High-wing aircraft
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