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, S-2B and S-2C (now the Ayres Thrush), which were produced in Olney, Texas fromn 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  capacity planes powered by Pratt & Whitney piston and turbine engines. 

From 2011 through 2018, Air Tractor consistently delivered more turboprop-powered fixed wing 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.

Aircraft

See also
 Ayres Corporation
 Thrush Aircraft
 L3Harris OA-1K Sky Warden (Air Tractor-L3Harris AT-802U Sky Warden)

References

Bibliography

Air Tractor AT-300

Air Tractor AT-400

Air Tractor AT-500 family

Air Tractor AT-602 
* Jackson, Paul. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 2003–2004. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Information Group, 2003. .
 Taylor, Michael J. H. Brassey's World Aircraft & Systems Directory 1999/2000. London: Brassey's, 1999. .
 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. .
 Keijsper, Gerard. "Water-Bombers Required!" Air Forces Monthly, London: Key Publishing, July 2008 Issue.

Further reading

External links 

 Air Tractor (Official website)
 Air Tractor Europe (Official website)

Aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Companies based in Texas
1978 establishments in Texas
American companies established in 1978
Manufacturing companies established in 1978