WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jim Hirsch, president of Air Tractor, and a board member of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), briefed staff of the U.S. House of Representatives this week on the Export-Import Bank’s importance to small businesses. Based in Olney, Texas, with about 260 employees, Air Tractor manufactures airplanes used to treat crops and fight fires. […]
Air Tractor
Air Tractor delivers aircraft to China
Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch and Managing Director Peter Mackay of Field Air Sales & Maintenance Pty. recently participated in a colorful ceremony in Jiamusi China marking the delivery of six Air Tractor AT-802F aircraft to Beidahuang General Aviation Company (BGA). The company is a subsidiary of the Beidahuang Group, a provincial-level state farm agribusiness […]
FAA certifies MVP-50T Engine Analyzer for Air Tractors
At the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) Convention in Reno, Nevada, Air Tractor reported that the Electronics International MVP-50T Engine Analyzer has received FAA certification for use in Air Tractor aircraft. Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch says the certification follows more than a year of design and certification testing by the Olney, Texas, agricultural aircraft […]
Air Tractor unveils new airframe and engine warranty
At the National Agricultural Aviation Association (NAAA) Convention this week in Reno, Nevada, Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch announced a new airframe and engine warranty policy to celebrate the company’s 40th anniversary and to mark 50 years of Pratt & Whitney’s PT6A engine. The new Air Tractor airframe warranty is a full warranty on the […]
3,000th Air Tractor delivered
OLNEY, Texas — An international gathering of dignitaries was on hand as Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch presented the company’s 3,000th Air Tractor airplane to its new owners from Brazil. The Air Tractor AT-502B, a bright yellow single-seat agricultural aircraft, rolled off the company’s production line in mid-July and recently returned from being on display […]
Air Tractor joins GAMA
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has approved Air Tractor as its newest member. GAMA’s membership currently stands at 77 manufacturers. Air Tractor got its start as the Snow Aeronautical Co. in 1951. In 1958, Leland Snow moved the production facilities to Olney, Texas, where Air Tractor […]
Airbags now standard on Air Tractors
In use in commercial and general aviation for many years, airbag technology has now become standard equipment on all current production Air Tractor aircraft. The AmSafe airbag system is an important new safety enhancement for agricultural aviation, according to Leland Snow, Air Tractor president. Also available as a retrofit kit, the AmSafe airbag system consists […]
Air Tractor’s new trainer takes off
Air Tractor has introduced the AT-504 – an all-new turboprop spray plane and trainer. Side-by-side cockpit seating is the most noticeable feature of the AT-504. Under its aluminum skin the AT-504 is built on Air Tractor’s AT-502B airframe. It also is powered by the same engine, a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34AG turboprop. “The AT-504 performs […]