Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
FRED AYRES, developer of the Ayres Turbo Thrush agricultural aircraft, is designing a series of new types - ranging from a fire fighting tanker to a utility freighter - using the Soloy Dual Pac with two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6As as the power plant.
The most immediate project is a larger version of the successful Thrush agricultural spraying aircraft. Ayres says: "There is a need for twin-engine capability in some government spraying programmes and fire fighting. We currently have a 1,930litre tank and, with the extra power, we're now designing one with a 2,650litre spray tank."
The heavier Thrush would be operated at all-up weights of around 5,000kg, using the additional power of two engines turning a single propeller, through the Soloy combining gearbox.
Ayres says that his Albany, Georgia based company is also working with Soloy on two utility/regional-transport aircraft which would be developed in parallel. The two types, "Loadmaster" and "son of Loadmaster", are aimed at the potential market for haulage of palletised cargo to hubs operated by night-parcel and express-freight operators.
The basic Loadmaster is envisaged as a 19-seat commuter certificated to US Federal Aviation Regulations Part 23 standards (twin-engine), with the Dual Pac driving a single propeller. The "quick-change" aircraft is designed so that it can be converted into a freighter able to carry three LD3 containers. A 2,900kg payload could be loaded through a 1.67 x 2.1m freight door.
A larger variant, with a gross weight of 8,620kg (compared to 7,080kg for the smaller version), is also on the drawing board. This would be able to carry up to 14 demi-containers of the type used by parcel carriers. Both aircraft would have a common empennage derived from the Thrush design, while the smaller Loadmaster would have the basic Thrush wing section in its outboard wing design.
Soloy claims that "...FedEx are showing interest in the Loadmaster and the Dual Pac as a propulsion system".
Source: Flight International
