The Air Tractor AT-500 is a family of agricultural aircraft that first flew in the United States on 25 April 1986, manufactured by Air Tractor Inc. Of monoplane low-wing, taildragger configuration, they carry a chemical hopper between the engine firewall and the cockpit. Compared with their predecessor, the AT-500 family featured a wingspan increase of , and an additional fuselage stretch of , allowing for a larger chemical hopper. Almost all variants offer a widened "buddy" seat or a tandem seat for a passenger, observer, or loader; trainer aircraft with full dual controls have also been offered.
From 2011 through 2018, the AT-502B was the world's top-selling agricultural aircraft with 388 deliveries, while the combined AT-500 line (AT-502A, -502B, and -504) was among the world's most popular fixed wing general aviation single-turboprop aircraft families, with 470 delivered—a total exceeded only by the Pilatus PC-12 and the Cessna 208 Caravan family during that time.
Variants AT-500Prototype Piston-powered version with Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine, one seat, gross weight of Type Certificate Data Sheet A17SW 2016, p. 5. Upgraded AT-501 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-15AG or PT6A-34AG engine, one or two seats, gross weight of or depending on production date and wing spar typeType Certificate Data Sheet A17SW 2016, pp. 6-8. AT-502AHot and high version of AT-502 with PT6A-65AG or PT6A-60AG engine, one or two seats in tandem or side-by-side arrangement, gross weight of Type Certificate Data Sheet A17SW 2016, pp. 17-20.Air Tractor Pilot Training Course 2015, p. 17. AT-502BMain production version, development of AT-502 with PT6A-34AG engine, one or two seats in tandem or side-by-side arrangement, gross weight of Type Certificate Data Sheet A17SW 2016, pp. 21-23.Air Tractor Pilot Training Course 2015, p. 17. AT-502XPUpdated AT-502A with PT6A-140AG engineAir Tractor Pilot Training Course 2015, p. 17. Production version with PT6A-45R engine, tandem seats, gross weight of Type Certificate Data Sheet A17SW 2016, pp. 1-2. AT-503AAT-503 with PT6A-34AG engine, tandem seatsType Certificate Data Sheet A17SW 2016, pp. 14-16. dual controls, AT-501 wings AT-503TDual-control trainer version of AT-503 with shorter AT-401 wings, tandem seats Dual-control trainer version of AT-502B with side-by-side seating, replaced tandem-seat AT-503 trainers, introduced 2009
Specifications (AT-502B)
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
http://www.airtractor.com/