The PAC Cresco is a

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 ...

-powered derivative of the Fletcher FU-24 (later called the PAC Fletcher) aerial topdressing

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

, manufactured by the Pacific Aerospace Corporation in

Hamilton, New Zealand Hamilton (, ) is an inland city in the North Island of New Zealand. Located on the banks of the Waikato River, it is the seat and most populous city of the Waikato, Waikato region. With a territorial population of , it is the country's List of c ...

. The Cresco was superseded by the

PAC P-750 XSTOL The PAC P-750 XSTOL, (formerly known as the PAC 750XL) is a utility aircraft of conventional all-metal low-wing monoplane design, with fixed tricycle undercarriage. Combining the engine and wings of the PAC Cresco with a new larger fuselage a ...

in the early 21st century, but in 2019 was returned to production with the first new aircraft being completed 3 December 2020.

Design and development

The Cresco is a low-wing monoplane which, like the Fletcher but unlike most topdressers, has

tricycle undercarriage Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', that is arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has one or more nose wheels in a single front undercarriage and two or more main wheels slightly aft of th ...

and places the cabin forward of the hopper, at the

leading edge The leading edge is the part of the wing that first contacts the air;Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 305. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. alternatively it is the foremost edge of an airfoil sectio ...

of the wing - which gives the pilot of the Cresco a good field of vision. The high-lift wing has pronounced dihedral on the outer span. The

prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototype ...

Cresco (ZK-LTP) had an all-moving tailplane, but was lost when the tailplane separated in flight, (the pilot parachuting to safety). Subsequent aircraft have had conventional tails. Sales of the Cresco were not as impressive as those of the piston-engine powered Fletcher, with only 39 examples being built before production was terminated. The Cresco has been sold in several countries and has pioneered new utility roles not explored by the Fletcher. Although used primarily to spread

superphosphate Superphosphate is a chemical fertiliser first synthesised in the 1840s by reacting bones with sulfuric acid. The process was subsequently improved by reacting phosphate coprolites with sulfuric acid. Subsequently, other phosphate-rich deposits suc ...

fertiliser A fertilizer or fertiliser is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrition, plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from Liming (soil), liming materials or other non- ...

, the Cresco is also used in the utility role, especially as a

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

platform, where its fast

rate of climb In aeronautics, the rate of climb (RoC) is an aircraft's vertical speed, that is the positive or negative rate of altitude change with respect to time. In most ICAO member countries, even in otherwise metric countries, this is usually expressed ...

() has made it popular, and as a firefighting

water bomber Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers are also classified as ...

, a role it can perform with little alteration from its standard agricultural layout. One aircraft has been converted for

aeromagnetic survey An aeromagnetic survey is a common type of geophysical survey carried out using a magnetometer aboard or towed behind an aircraft. The principle is similar to a magnetic survey carried out with a hand-held magnetometer, but allows much larger are ...

. A disadvantage in the utility role is the low internal volume available for the relatively high-powered engine. PAC Cresco in flight in topdressing duty

PAC Cresco in flight in topdressing duty

The Cresco is normally flown by a single pilot, but has a second seat in all versions. It can carry nine sky divers. Usual powerplant is a

Pratt & Whitney Canada Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC or P&WC) is a Canada-based aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, south of Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), itself a business unit of RTX ...

PT6-34AG. The

PAC 750XL The PAC P-750 XSTOL, (formerly known as the PAC 750XL) is a utility aircraft of conventional Aluminium, all-metal low-wing monoplane design, with fixed Tricycle gear, tricycle undercarriage. Combining the engine and wings of the PAC Cresco with ...

, a utility aircraft was derived from the Cresco, and retains its high-lift wing. As of January 2019 120 PAC 750XL's have been produced and it remains in high demand as an uncompromising utility aircraft able to operate in hot and high conditions. Underside plan view of PAC Cresco

Cresco II

On 17 December 2019 Pacific Aerospace posted on Facebook an announcement by CEO Mark Crouch that the type would return to production as the Cresco II, with some modifications regarding pilot safety and comfort, for the New Zealand customer Rural Air Work Ltd.

Variants

;Cresco 08-600 :Initial production version, powered by 447 kW (600 shp) Lycoming LTP 101-700A-1A engine.Jackson 2003, p. 322. ;Cresco 08-750 :More powerful version with 559 kW (750 shp) Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34AG engine. Production from 1992. ;Cresco II :Improved cockpit sealing and air conditioning, more use of P-750 components, a carbon fiber engine cowl, and an EFIS avionics setup. Production from 2019.

Specifications (Cresco 08-600)

References

* Ewing, Ross and MacPherson, Ross ''The History of New Zealand Aviation'', Heinemann, 1986 * Geelen, Janic ''The Topdressers'' NZ Aviation Press. Te Awamutu, 1983. * Jackson, Paul. ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003-2004''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group. . * Knowles, Alan, ''New Zealand Aircraft'', IPL Books, Wellington, 1990. * Taylor, John W. R. (editor). ''Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89''. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data. .

External links