The One, Brief Life of the Twin Cat

The aircraft was a modification of a 1950s-era Grumman Super Ag Cat biplane that replaced its single radial engine with two 310 hp Lycoming TIO-540 flat-6 engines.

Jason McDowell

Tuesday, April 02, 2024 at 08:55 AM ET

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A photograph from a company brochure nicely illustrates the unique engine layout of the Twin Cat biplane. [Courtesy: Twin Cat Corporation]

Key Takeaways:

The Twin Cat was a late 1970s/early '80s Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) modification for the Grumman Super Ag Cat, aiming to provide aerial application operators with more serviceable engines, increased overhaul intervals, and multi-engine redundancy.
Its innovative design featured two engines mounted close together on either side of the nose and canted outward, which effectively minimized asymmetric thrust and allowed for impressive capabilities like claimed single-engine takeoffs.
The modification offered benefits such as significantly shorter takeoff distances, a 2,000-pound increase in maximum takeoff weight, improved forward visibility, and better spray dispersion.
Despite these advancements and a highly experienced development team, only a rumored three Twin Cat aircraft were completed, and the concept was ultimately not pursued further.

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Aerial application has historically involved creative solutions to address unique challenges. Whether the task at hand is crop spraying, pest control, or fire fighting, a multitude of capabilities are required to do the job safely and efficiently. Accordingly, the aircraft types utilized for these duties have evolved and adapted differently from most other categories of aviation.

The “Twin Cat” of the late 1970s and early ’80s was one such example. A development of the 1950s-era, purpose-built Grumman Super Ag Cat biplane, it replaced the Ag Cat’s single 600 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1340 radial engine with two 310 hp Lycoming TIO-540 flat-6 engines.