Air Tractor debuts the Even for a mid-September day in west Texas, 102 degrees is hot. It’s the kind of day when few creatures venture above ground or from beneath the shade tree. On this day, buzzards ride thermals over a nearby field of dry, weedy sorghum. A drooping orange windsock barely captures a listless southeast breeze at Olney Municipal Airport. The immense hangar doors of Plants 2 and 2A are shut tight against the heat so that employees building airplanes at Air Tractor, Inc. stay cool(er) in the vast airconditioned space. Outside on the skillet black tarmac the only activity at the ag plane factory is a group of men sweating around an airplane parked at the fuel and water tanks. At a glance, it looks like any other yellow and blue Air Tractor ag plane—except for the 4-blade Hartzell prop. For those sufficiently motivated to come outside for a closer look, the propeller and the “EXPERIMENTAL” decal on the cockpit door reveal this to be a different Air Tractor, something new. Today is a flight evaluation day for the Air Tractor 502XP. Some high time, “special guest pilots” are on hand to take the plane through its paces. It’s picture day, too. The airplane appears overexposed, almost glowing in the fierce noonday sun. A photographer and a video cameraman bump each other as they squint into black cameras to frameup the airplane’s best angles. Here’s a good picture: The blue and black Air Tractor stripe along the cowling is
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interrupted just behind the exhaust stack with a diamond-shaped logo: “502XP” This is a 502 with “Xtra Power.” The Air Tractor 502XP has likely been one of the worst kept secrets of the year. Rumors have swirled since February that Air Tractor was developing a more powerful version of its widely popular AT-502 series. And now here it is, serial number 502A-2945—sporting a taller tail as compared to the 502B, and a 4-blade prop that hints at something new beneath the cowling skins. Ed Shores of Shores Ag-Air in Robstown Texas knows all about Air Tractor 502s. For the better part of a decade the veteran south Texas aerial spraying operator flew numerous 502 series aircraft over many, many thousands of cotton field acres. And as the 500-gallon capacity hopper
is filled with water, Ed climbs onto the wing and into the cockpit to check out this new ride. Standing wingside is Air Tractor Chief Test Pilot Mike Rhodes, who passes along last-minute instructions to Ed for his “demo” flight. The engine spins up; the 502XP taxis away from the gaggle of people and cameras with a blast of hot prop wash. Inside the cockpit Ed Shores surveys gauges, eyes the MVP50T glass panel engine analyzer, and cranks up the air conditioner. This is the first of a series of flights today by Ed Shores, AgAir Update’s very own Bill Lavender, and another hightime 502 pilot, Air Tractor’s test pilot, Brent Colvin. Their assignment today is to fly the 502XP and provide opinions and evaluations of the airplane’s
Air Tractor President Jim Hirsch checks out the new 502XP paint scheme.