Air Tractor



Air Tractor Inc. is a United States aircraft manufacturer based in Olney, Texas. Founded in 1978, the company began manufacturing a new agricultural aircraft derived from the S-2B aircraft (designed by founder Leland Snow's previous company, Snow Aeronautical). Designated Model AT-300 Air Tractor, the new aircraft first flew in 1973.

History
Leland Snow began designing his first airplane, the S-1, in 1951. The 23-year-old Snow completed test flights with the S-1 in 1953. Snow's S-1 flew dusting and spraying jobs in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and in Nicaragua until 1957. He followed up the S-1 with the models S-2A and S-2B, which were built when Snow moved to production facilities in Olney, Texas in 1958.

In 1965, Leland Snow sold his company to Rockwell-Standard and was appointed a Vice President of the Aero Commander division. During this time, the Model S-2R was developed and named the Thrush. The first 100 Thrush aircraft were built at the Olney Division before the plant was closed and Thrush production moved to Georgia in 1970. More than 500 aircraft were produced under Snow Aeronautical Corporation and Rockwell-Standard in Olney.

Snow resigned from Rockwell and devoted the next two years designing the Air Tractor. Construction on the AT-300, which later became the AT-301, began in 1972. Air Tractor's first turbine model, the AT-302, was introduced in 1977.

Sixteen years later, Air Tractor delivered its 1,100th airplane and soon began expanding the Olney plant for increased capacity, and less than five years after that , the 2,000th Snow-designed airplane was built there.

Since then, Air Tractor has produced a line of aircraft that includes 400 and 500 and 600 and 800 USgal capacity planes powered by Pratt & Whitney piston and turbine engines. From 2011 through 2018, Air Tractor consistently delivered more turboprop-powered fixed wing general aviation aircraft than any other manufacturer; of 601 total worldwide general aviation turboprop deliveries in 2018, 141 (23%) were Air Tractors. Now (2024), even the entry level agricultural plane AT-402B is available only with turbine engine.

On July 1, 2008 Air Tractor, Inc. became an employee-owned company with the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. "On February 20, 2011, at age 80, Leland Snow passed away while jogging near his home in Wichita Falls, Texas. On his desk at home were his plans and notes for the next day’s engineering meeting.

Snow is remembered as a quiet, generous and kind-natured family man whose focus and determination built one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturing companies.

And yet for all his many accomplishments and busy schedule, Leland Snow would always make time to visit with ag pilots who dropped by to see him at his office or at National Agricultural Aviation Association meetings. His commitment to pilot safety and drift minimization programs helped to improve public image of our industry.

His wish was to pass the company to the employees who had devoted their skills and passion to Air Tractor."

Air Tractor AT-602

 * Jackson, Paul. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. ISBN 0-7106-2537-5.
 * Taylor, Michael J. H. Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999/2000. London: Brassey's, 1999. ISBN 1-85753-245-7.
 * Airliners.net
 * Manufacturer's Website

Air Tractor AT-802

 * Ayton, Mark. "Archangel: Crop Duster to Tank Buster". Air International, Vol. 92, No. 2, February 2017. pp. 24–33..
 * Hoyle, Craig. "World Air Forces Directory". Flight International, 13–19 December 2011. pp. 26–52.
 * Jackson, Paul. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. ISBN 0-7106-2537-5.
 * Keijsper, Gerard. "Water-Bombers Required!" Air Forces Monthly, London: Key Publishing, July 2008 Issue.