PAC Cresco

Pacific Aerospace Corporation · New Zealand · first flew 1979 · light aircraft

The Cresco is a turboprop-powered agricultural topdressing aircraft, a heavier, more powerful development of the earlier Fletcher/PAC Fletcher line built for New Zealand's demanding hill-country work.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	Low-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × turboprop, nose-mounted
F — Fuselage	11.07 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

Bulky agricultural hopper ahead of the cockpit
Braced low wing with fixed taildragger gear
Turboprop nose driving a large three-blade prop

Identify it by the deep agricultural hopper between engine and cockpit, a strut-braced low wing and fixed taildragger undercarriage. The turboprop nose and single-seat raised cockpit give it a purposeful working stance.

Specifications

The PAC Cresco has a length of 11.07 m (36 ft).
It has a wingspan of 12.81 m (42 ft).
Its maximum speed is 282 km/h (175 mph).
Typical crew: 1 pilot.

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

Developed by New Zealand Aerospace Industries and continued by Pacific Aerospace Corporation, the Cresco first flew in 1979 with a turboprop replacing the piston engines of its Fletcher forebears. It was designed to lift larger chemical and fertiliser loads over rugged terrain.

Variants

Marketed as the Cresco 08-600, the aircraft used a Lycoming LTP101 and later Pratt & Whitney PT6 power, with the airframe feeding directly into the later PAC 750XL utility design. Only modest numbers were completed.

Where you'll see it

The type is essentially a New Zealand and Australian agricultural machine with no meaningful UK footprint, where topdressing is uncommon. Its rugged hopper airframe nonetheless influenced the widely exported 750XL.

Related aircraft

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