Air Tractor AT-502
Air Tractor · United States · first flew 1987 · light aircraft
The Air Tractor AT-502 is a high-capacity turboprop agricultural aircraft capable of carrying up to 1,893 litres of spray or 1,814 kg of dry material, making it one of the most productive single-engine crop aircraft in its class.
Recognition (WEFT)
| W — Wings | Low-mounted, tapered |
|---|---|
| E — Engines | 1 × turboprop, nose-mounted |
| F — Fuselage | 8.64 m fuselage |
| T — Tail | Conventional |
WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.
Spot it by:
- Low-wing turboprop agricultural aircraft with enlarged 1,893-litre hopper
- Single bubble-canopy cockpit aft of the oversized chemical hopper
- Spray booms or dry spreader beneath low wing trailing edge
Closely resembles the AT-402 but is visibly longer ahead of the cockpit due to the stretched hopper; the PT6A cowling is the same but the fuselage has a more pronounced hump forward. All Air Tractor models share the characteristic low-wing, aft-cockpit layout with spray booms under the wing.
Specifications
- The Air Tractor AT-502 has a length of 8.64 m (28 ft).
- It has a wingspan of 15.24 m (50 ft).
- Its maximum speed is 262 km/h (163 mph).
- Typical crew: 1.
Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.
History
Introduced in 1987, the AT-502 was designed to increase payload and productivity over the earlier AT-400 series. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG turboprop gave ample power to lift full hoppers from short, unimproved runways typical of agricultural strips. It rapidly became Air Tractor's most popular model.
Variants
The AT-502A and AT-502B offer progressive refinements; the AT-502B features an 18-inch forward fuselage stretch for additional hopper volume. A floatplane version is also produced for fire-fighting support.
Where you'll see it
The AT-502 series accounts for a substantial share of the turbine agricultural aircraft fleet in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South America; many operators run mixed fleets pairing AT-402s and AT-502s.
Related aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-500
- Air Tractor AT-501
- Air Tractor AT-402
- Air Tractor AT-802
- Avid Aircraft Speedwing
- Carlson Sparrow
- Lancair 320
- Promavia F.1300 Jet Squalus
AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.