Engineering:Air Tractor AT-501

AT-500 family
Air Tractor AT-501
Role	Agricultural aircraft
Manufacturer	Air Tractor
First flight	25 April 1986

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 mostly feature a wingspan increased to 50 ft (15.2 m), and an additional fuselage stretch of 22 in (56 cm), allowing for a larger chemical hopper. Almost all variants have a second seat for a passenger or observer.

Variants

AT-500

Prototype.

AT-501

Piston-powered version with Pratt & Whitney R-1340 engine

AT-502

Main production version with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engine and one seat

AT-503

production version with Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engine and two seats

AT-503A

Dual-control trainer version of AT-503 with shorter AT-401 wings

AT-503T

Dual-control trainer version of AT-503 with shorter AT-401 wings

Specifications (AT-503)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89

General characteristics

• Crew: one pilot
• Capacity:
  
  • 1 passenger
  • 502 US gal (1,900 L) chemicals
• Length: 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
• Wingspan: 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
• Height: 9 ft 9½ in (2.99 m)
• Wing area: 288.0 ft² (26.76 m²)
• Empty weight: 4,650 lb (2,109 kg)
• Gross weight: 10,480 lb (4,754 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney PT6A-45R turboprop, 1,100 hp (820 kW)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 220 mph (340 km/h)
• Range: 800 miles (1,287 km)
• Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (10,975 m)
• Rate of climb: 3,500 ft/min (17,78 m/s)

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Simpson, R. W. (1995). Airlife's General Aviation. Shrewsbury: Airlife Publishing. pp. 31–32. 
• Taylor, John W.R. (editor) (1988). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1988-89. Coulsdon, UK: Jane's Defence Data. ISBN 0-7106-0867-5. 

External links

• AT-502 in Action at Milford, Nebraska AT-502