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23-516: The Fletcher FU-24 is an agricultural aircraft made in New Zealand . Being one of the first aircraft designed for aerial topdressing , the Fletcher has also been used for other aerial applications as a utility aircraft, and for sky diving . In the early 1950s New Zealand topdressing operators were in the U.S. seeking a replacement for war surplus de Havilland Tiger Moths which formed

46-412: A turbofan -powered biplane . All tend to be of simple, rugged STOL design. Sometimes a ram air turbine is used as an auxiliary power source for the pumping machinery instead of taking power directly from the engine (because this can be installed without any modifications of the airplane's mechanical systems). In places where dedicated use as an agricultural aircraft is uneconomic, utility types such as

69-785: A cargo compartment. The Fletcher's airframe is constructed entirely of aluminium , heavily treated to prevent corrosion . FU-24 c/n1 flew on 14 June 1954 in the United States as N6505C, then was disassembled for shipment to New Zealand where it flew as ZK-BDS. This original prototype had a 225 hp (168 kW) engine and open cockpit . Prior to production commencing the design was altered to add an enclosed cockpit and more powerful 260 to 310 hp (230 kW) Continental engines . The next 70 aircraft were delivered to New Zealand in kit form and assembled at Hamilton airport by operator James Aviation and later at Tasman Empire Airways Limited 's Mechanics Bay factory under contract from

92-489: A constructor's number and the second, c/n1, to fly) in the U.S. with the New Zealand Meat Producers Board acting as financial guarantor. The Fletcher is a conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle undercarriage , side-by-side seating in front of the wing and hopper and pronounced dihedral on the outer wing panels. A door aft of the wing's trailing edge on the port side allows access to

115-409: A hundred earlier aircraft were re-built and re-engined by the factory). In 1967 a PT6 turboprop version was built by James Aviation as ZK-CTZ, a 530 hp (400 kW) Garrett TPE 331 -powered version followed in 1968 and a 665 hp (496 kW) Garrett-powered version in 1971, both for Robertson Air Service. Several others were converted aftermarket with these or Walter turbines , (including

138-474: A new firm, Air Parts (NZ) Limited. From 1961 full production was undertaken locally by Air Parts which later became part of AESL. It was during Air Parts' production that detail improvements and the option of dual controls were added, becoming the FU-24 Mark II. After the 257th aircraft the engine was changed to a 400 hp (300 kW) Lycoming IO-720 horizontally-opposed eight-cylinder engine (over

161-760: A process known as eutrophication , which has led to restrictions on topdressing near waterways. PAC Cresco The PAC Cresco is a turboprop -powered derivative of the Fletcher FU-24 (later called the PAC Fletcher) aerial topdressing aircraft , manufactured by the Pacific Aerospace Corporation in Hamilton, New Zealand . The Cresco was superseded by the PAC P-750 XSTOL in the early 21st century, but in 2019

184-526: Is now often subject to restrictions, for example spraying pesticide is generally banned in Sweden, although exceptions can be made such as for an area plagued by mosquitoes during summer. The aerial spread of fertilizer has also raised concerns, for example in New Zealand fertilizer entering streams has been found to disproportionately promote growth of species that are more able to exploit the nutrients, in

207-577: The Air Tractor , Cessna Ag-wagon , Gippsland GA200 , Grumman Ag Cat , PZL-106 KRUK , M-18 Dromader , PAC Fletcher , Piper PA-36 Pawnee Brave , Embraer EMB 202 Ipanema , and Rockwell Thrush Commander but helicopters are also used. Generally, agricultural aircraft have piston or turboprop engines. The only known exception is the Polish PZL M-15 Belphegor which has a jet engine. Crop dusting with insecticides began in

230-468: The Antonov An-2 biplane and De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver have been used. In the case of helicopters , tanks are placed on or outside the body of the aircraft, while a spray rig, extending outward to the sides, is attached well below the main rotor blades. Hydroseeding is often done by helicopters using tanks and drop systems much like those used for aerial firefighting . To reduce drift of

253-703: The 1920s in the United States. The first widely used agricultural aircraft were converted war-surplus biplanes, such as the De Havilland Tiger Moth and Stearman . After more effective insecticides and fungicides were developed in the 1940s, and aerial topdressing was developed by government research in New Zealand , purpose-built agricultural fixed-wing aircraft became common. In the US and Europe, agricultural aircraft are typically small, simple, and rugged. Most have spraying systems attached to

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276-499: The Fletcher. Although used primarily to spread superphosphate fertiliser , the Cresco is also used in the utility role, especially as a skydiving platform, where its fast rate of climb (1,560 ft/min, 7.9 m/s) has made it popular, and as a firefighting water bomber , a role it can perform with little alteration from its standard agricultural layout. One aircraft has been converted for aeromagnetic survey . A disadvantage in

299-487: The backbone of the industry. To answer the New Zealand request US aeronautical engineer and light aircraft enthusiast John W. Thorp , working for the Fletcher Aviation Corporation , conceived the T.15 with design elements taken from his earlier T.11 Sky Scooter including an all-moving horizontal tailplane but with a wing design similar to that of his Fletcher FD-25 Defender . Further design work

322-407: The early 2000s Super Air flew a Fletcher powered by a 550 hp Ford V-8 diesel which was replaced by a Walter turbine after trials were completed. In 2018 another Fletcher was fitted with a RED A03/V12 diesel engine and trials are ongoing as of 2022. At least nineteen different engines have been fitted to the Fletcher. In the mid 1970s, Pacific Aerospace decided the Fletcher design was reaching

345-484: The first prototype, which flew until recently with a Walter). Two aircraft were also converted to Garrett TPE 331-10 engines by the Scone (NSW Australia) operator Airpasture. These aircraft have since flown many thousands of hours without incident. In the mid 1990s operator Fieldair experimented with a turbocharged small block Chevrolet 402 V-8 producing 550 hp, although the project was cancelled before it flew, and in

368-418: The limits of redevelopment and introduced the larger and stronger PAC Cresco . Despite the similar appearance this is a new aircraft, though sharing a few components. For several years production of the two continued side by side, but the type is now effectively out of production, (new Fletchers remain nominally available from the manufacturer, but no new aircraft have been built since a batch of five for Syria

391-478: The outer span. The prototype Cresco (ZK-LTP) had an all-moving tailplane , but was lost when the tailplane separated in flight, (the pilot parachuting to safety). Subsequent aircraft have had conventional tails . Sales of the Cresco were not as impressive as those of the piston-engine powered Fletcher, with only 39 examples being built before production was terminated. The Cresco has been sold in several countries and has pioneered new utility roles not explored by

414-476: The sprayed materials, agricultural pilots attempt to fly just above the crops being treated. Fields are often surrounded by obstacles such as trees, telephone lines, and farm buildings. Purpose-built agricultural airplanes have strengthened cockpits to protect the pilot if an accident occurs. Aerial spraying has been controversial since the 1960s, due to environmental concerns about pesticide drift (raised for example by Rachel Carson 's book Silent Spring ). It

437-625: The trailing edges of their wings, and pumps are usually driven by wind turbines. In places where farms are larger, such as New Zealand , Australia , the former Warsaw Pact nations, and parts of the developing world, larger and more powerful aircraft have been used, including turboprop powered aircraft such as the PAC Cresco , twin engined types such as the Lockheed Lodestar and the WSK-Mielec M-15 Belphegor –

460-666: The utility role is the low internal volume available for the relatively high-powered engine. The Cresco is normally flown by a single pilot, but has a second seat in all versions. It can carry nine sky divers. Usual powerplant is a 750 hp (560 kW) Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-34AG . The PAC 750XL , a utility aircraft was derived from the Cresco, and retains its high-lift wing. As of January 2019 120 PAC 750XL's have been produced and it remains in high demand as an uncompromising utility aircraft able to operate in hot and high conditions. On 17 December 2019 Pacific Aerospace posted on Facebook an announcement by CEO Mark Crouch that

483-548: Was carried out by Gerald Barden of the Fletcher Aviation Corporation under Thorp's direction. A group of New Zealand top dressing operators gathered a hundred purchase options for the design, now marketed as the Fletcher FU-24, off the drawing board and New Zealand farming company Cable Price Corporation funded the construction of two prototypes (one for static stress tests which never received

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506-918: Was completed in 1992). Although Fletcher was the name of the manufacturer in the U.S. and the aircraft was called the FU-24, over time the type has become colloquially known as the Fletcher. Fletchers have been sold to most parts of the world, although they are rare in Europe and the US. Government orders came from many developing countries including Iraq , Sudan , Syria and Thailand . Three examples are held by aviation museums in New Zealand: Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1993–94 General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Agricultural aircraft The most common agricultural aircraft are fixed-wing , such as

529-401: Was returned to production with the first new aircraft being completed 3 December 2020. The Cresco is a low-wing monoplane which, like the Fletcher but unlike most topdressers, has tricycle undercarriage and places the cabin forward of the hopper , at the leading edge of the wing - which gives the pilot of the Cresco a good field of vision. The high-lift wing has pronounced dihedral on

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