US agricultural- and utility-aircraft manufacturer Ayres is shortly to begin windtunnel tests on aerodynamic revisions to its LM200 Loadmaster freighter. The Loadmaster was launched at the November¹ 1996 National Business Aircraft Association show in Orlando, Florida, and is being developed in the first instance for parcels carrier FedEx.
Ayres president Fred Ayres says that the latest 1/8th-scale model of the aircraft will have a revised main undercarriage in a bid to reduce drag from the fixed gear. Possibilities being investigated include replacing the automotive-style strut gear with a trailing-beam type housed in an aerodynamic fairing.
Ayres also says that the company is looking at offering a Pratt & Whitney Canada/Soloy Twinpac power unit as an alternative to the coupled LHTEC T-800 engines initially being offered. The different geometry and weight of the P&WC unit means that it would have to be mounted some 300mm further back in the airframe.
Ayres' latest Turbo Thrush agricultural aircraft, the 660, is on schedule for certification in April. The company has sold "half a dozen" of the enlarged machines, which have a 3,000litre capacity, a 20% increase over earlier models. Ayres expects to deliver 70 agricultural aircraft this year.
Source: Flight International
