Ayres Corporation
American aircraft manufacturer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ayres Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer owned and run by Fred Ayres.
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Albany, Georgia, division of Rockwell International |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Founder | Fred Ayres |
| Defunct | 2001 |
| Fate | Bankruptcy; acquired by Thrush Aircraft |
| Successor | Thrush Aircraft |
| Headquarters | , |
| Subsidiaries | LET (1998–2001) |
History
In 1977, Ayres bought the Albany, Georgia division of Rockwell International, which made the S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft.[1][failed verification] Before this, Ayres had been a distributor of Thrush Commanders.[citation needed] After the acquisition, Ayres developed two-seat and turboprop-powered versions of the Thrush Commander.[citation needed]
By 1981, the company was operating a crop-dusting training school.[2] A special V-1-A Vigilante version of the Thrush Commander was developed in 1989 for anti-drug operations in South America.[3] The company attempted to sell 10 Turbo Thrush aircraft to Iran in 1993, but was unable to receive an exemption from U.S. government sanctions.[4]
In 1996, urged on by Federal Express, development was begun on the Ayres LM200 Loadmaster, designed to carry 7,500 pounds of cargo.[5] The aircraft was to be powered by two 1350 hp LHTEC TP800 driving a single five-bladed Hamilton-Standard propeller through a combining gearbox. To support this development effort, Ayres acquired the LET aircraft manufacturing company in the Czech Republic in September 1998.[6][failed verification][7][failed verification]
In 2001, the company was forced into bankruptcy when creditors foreclosed on it and the Loadmaster program was terminated.[8][failed verification]
In 2003, the company's assets were bought by Thrush Aircraft.[9]
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ayres Thrush | Single engine agricultural monoplane | ||
| Ayres LM200 Loadmaster | N/A | 0 | Unbuilt single engine cargo monoplane |
