rekabr52

Remarkably well armed aircraft for aerial application. With all that I’d imagine the crop bugs wouldn’t stand a chance. (laughing)

roganderson60

Other than go slower, I’m not sure what it can do that the A-10 can’t. Both of them very susceptible to ground missiles these days I would guess However, it would be fun to fly.

Zeca

AWESOME! Nothing less than that! Great idea! Why not use an aircraft that was designed for taking off short on rough tracks (called RWY in aviation, LOL) good to carry tons of loads, price point, and much more… I wish I was the pilot to fly these missions!

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keith

Air Tractor company has been aggressive in getting payload, though IMO is overloaded when carrying water in floats not just fuselage.

Check accident interior of BC when pilot rotated too much at tend of scooping run, no stall margin there.

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keith

Yup, rutted tractor/truck path at edge of field, just keep lower fence.

Country road or barnyard probably not much smoother.

Arthur_Foyt

As long as the bad guys don’t have rifles, it’s brilliant!

NewUserName

Chosen by guys who still prefer the M1911. In retrospect, the tail dragger was a shoe-in.

I doubt they will have a hard time finding pilots.

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keith

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-investigations/aviation/2014/a14p0132/a14p0132.html

It is a turboprop, there is a tandem-seat version which I gather from limited information the Sky Warden design has.

I presume the 11 hour endurance comes from making the fuselage insecticide/fertilizer tank into a fuel tank.

Note antenna on top of right wing in Forbes photo of flight deck.

Could the US’ military version have a QC kit for spraying when locusts multiply, as they did recently? (Locusts/grasshoppers/whatever-name multiply in huge quantities when land is moister than usual thus more vegetation for food, they have to be attacked at a particular time in their growth. A serious food problem in Africa as they eat crops.) Spraying is a common use of ag aircraft, dusting crops another., perhaps fertilizing as well.

lstencel

During the testing of the similar mission Piper PA-46 Enforcer (P-51 lookalike w a turbine) by the USAF Test Pilot school at Edwards AFB 40 years ago, they couldn’t keep the pilots out of the things.

Using some of these for special mission SOCOM ops in austere environments is one thing but anyone within USAF that things these things will make the A-10 and its GAU-8 obsolete needs to be tested for drugs or Covid.

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davidbunin

Not the only one. The other tailwheel airplane in Air Force inventory is the U-2.

STEVEKING

Previous comment: “Other than go slower, I’m not sure what it can do that the A-10 can’t.”
Answer: It can be in about 10 places at once. (It’s my wild guess that 10 of these could be operated for about the same cost as operating an A-10. *) Both this and A-10’s would be vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles (including shoulder-launched) and most jet fighters.

I have great respect for the A-10, partly because of the great respect and affection my son-in-law has for it. In his 13 years in the US Army, he had about 48 months of serious combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to him, “A-10’s saved my ass many times.” In addition to having the awesome 30mm Gatling gun it can get up close and personal to the bad guys.

For counter-insurgency (COIN) operations, the extra power of the A-10’s 30mm Gatling gun vs the AT-802U’s 7.62mm Gatling guns wouldn’t make a difference against “soft” targets. Apparently, 8 gun pods can be carried, with 3000 rounds in each, and a rate of fire of 3000 round per minute. For “hard” targets, it appears that the AT-802U can carry a variety of powerful weapons, including Hellfire missiles. Comparing the firepower of just one gun pod to that of a Battle of Britain Spitfire:
The Spitfire had 8 .303 machine guns, with 300 rounds each, a total of 2400 rounds. So, just one of the AT-802U’s gun pods has more firepower than a WW2 Spitfire. Each 7.62 mm round is significantly more effective than a .303 round, and there are 25% more rounds in one pod).
Note its other qualities. Among other things, I assume that the “quick change magazine” could be changed by hand, whereas the A-10’s magazine is the size of a VW “bug” car.
From the gun pod manufacturer:
•• Self-contained system
•• Dillon M134D-H Minigun
•• 3,000-round magazine capacity
•• Rapidly removable nose and tail cone for easy gun or magazine access
•• Conformal Remote Gun Control Unit (RGCU)
•• Quick Change Ammunition Magazine
•• Last Round Switch (approx. 100 rounds remaining) with pilot override interrupt
•• Integral bore sight adjustment +/- 2.5°

• According to an online source, it appears that a 30 mm round costs roughly 20-40 times as much as a 7.62 mm round.
  7.62: 0.73-$2.48 depending on the round.
  30mm: $14.27–$78.90 depending on the round.

NewUserName

Of course, could run it cheaper by putting it in the Army reserve, but good luck with that.