Thrush Aircraft

What does it take to run a crop-dusting business? This pilot and aerial-applicator business owner shares her story with FLYING.

Albany, Georgia-based Thrush Aircraft, makers of a variety of turbine-powered agricultural and firefighting aircraft said in a news release that despite the wide-ranging effects of the Covid-19 virus on the US economy, the company enjoyed a very strong first quarter. “The company’s 2020 order book so far includes some 17 aircraft for both spray and […]

Albany, Georgia-based Thrush Aircraft announced recently that a new ownership group closed on an asset purchase agreement September 5th after a Chapter 11 filing that will allow new leadership to conduct a reorganization of the company, known worldwide for making a popular line of agriculture, forestry and firefighting aircraft. Industry veteran Mark McDonald is the […]

The FAA has certified the Thrush 510G Switchback firefighting aircraft, a GE-powered single-engine turboprop better known for crop dusting and now designated as a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) aircraft. According to Thrush, based in Albany, Georgia, the Switchback has the ability to deliver 500 gallons of water, retardant or fire suppressant with pinpoint accuracy, […]

A Missouri man was sentenced to six and half years in federal prison for shooting an agplane flying low near his home. According to court documents, on December 3, 2014, David Leroy Dickenson, 39, became irate that a low-flying Thrush 510 aerial application aircraft was keeping him from sleeping during the day. So he went […]

Crop dusters and firefighter pilots in Europe now have a new airplane option as Thrush Aircraft Company has received the sign off from the European Aviation Safety Agency for its Thrush 510G. With a price tag of around $900,000, the turboprop single received FAA certification in 2012 and has also been approved in Canada, Argentina […]

The FAA has issued the type certificate for the new Thrush 510G agplane powered by a single 800-shp General Electric H80 turbine engine. The 510G is a derivative of the original 510P model powered by the Pratt & Whitney PT6. The new model features a number of additional improvements including a total redesign of the […]

The pine trees in south Georgia sure grow tall. This was the singular thought that kept racing through my mind as we blasted across the open peanut field at 145 miles per hour five feet off the ground before pitching up at the last instant to skim over the tops of the 90-foot-tall trees, missing […]