Turbine Agricultural Aircraft For Sale

About Turbine Agricultural Aircraft

Although turbine agricultural aircraft have been around for less time than their piston-powered counterparts, these days they’re the predominant aircraft type used for aerial applicator tasks, including fertilizer and pesticide applications, seeding and sowing, and crop and field analysis. The National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) says companies specializing in aerial applications treat nearly 130 million acres, or about 30%, of commercial U.S. cropland each year. Of the aircraft used in these operations, 84% are fixed-wing planes and 16% rotorcraft/helicopters, and when combining these, roughly 80% use turbine engines compared to about 20% using piston power plants.

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Air Tractor AT-802A

Along with delivering nutrients, controlling weeds, and combatting pests and diseases, turbine ag aircraft can typically perform numerous other functions, as well, including fighting fires. The Thrush 510 P, for example, uses a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34AG turbine engine that helps the plane support shrimp feeding, timber top dressing, drug eradication efforts, and oil spill cleanups. Air Tractor’s AT-802A, meanwhile, uses a Pratt & Whitney turbine engine that helps it carry out forest-related tasks in various regions of the world.

Turbine Ag Aircraft Advantages

The NAAA says Pratt & Whitney Canada began working on developing a smaller gas turbine engine in 1957. It wouldn’t be until 1975, though, when turbine engines appeared in ag aircraft. When they did, they introduced greater speed, power, reliability, and support for larger payloads over piston models. Along with better fuel economy, this resulted in longer, much more productive shifts in the fields, thanks to an ability to haul larger hoppers and fuel tanks.

Turbine ag planes share various abilities with piston-powered models that make them an ideal choice for aerial application jobs. These include the ability to treat crops and sow seed in remote locations and over rougher terrain that hinder access to land-based application equipment. Turbine models also produce no soil compaction or crop disruption, which enables using them to treat taller crops in mid-season if needed. Modern turbine ag planes also leverage GPS, application, precision, meteorological, and other technologies and systems allowing for greater precision and accuracy, reduced overlapping, and less chemical drifting.

Turbine Agricultural Aircraft Characteristics

Modern turbine ag aircraft are sophisticated machines packing numerous performance and safety features. The aforementioned Thrush 510 P, for example, provides a full-color glass panel display that make it easy to keep an eye on performance-related functions, including such ag-specific ones as boom pressure, in direct sunlight. The aircraft also offers wire-strike protection, lightweight fiberglass hoppers that make it easy to keep track of your levels while in flight, powder-coating finishing to combat exposure to chemicals and moisture, and wide-stance landing gear for landing on rough landing strips.

The Air Tractor AT-802-A equips an 800-gallon (3,028-liter) hopper and has a 9,249-pound (4,195-kilogram) payload; the manufacturer says it’s the world’s largest single-engine ag aircraft. The plane can also carry 254 gallons (961 L) of fuel while working at speeds from 130 to 160 mph (209 to 257 km/h) and supporting an economy cruise range of 610 miles (982 kilometers). Air Tractor also offers AT-502 and AT-602 models with smaller 500- and 600-gallon (1,892- and 2,271-L) hoppers.

Find The Turbine Agricultural Aircraft For You

You’ll find new and used turbine agricultural aircraft for sale every day on Controller.com, including planes from manufacturers like Air Tractor, Ayres, and Thrush.