AYRES

Ayres Corporation was an aerospace company located in Albany, Georgia, United States. The company was founded in 1977 by Fred Ayres, who purchased the Albany division of Rockwell International, which manufactured the S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft. After the acquisition, Ayres developed two-seat and turboprop-powered versions of the Thrust Commander, as well as a special V-1-A Vigilante version for anti-drug operations in South America. The company attempted to sell 10 Turbo Thrush aircraft to Iran in 1993, but was unable to receive an exemption from U.S. government sanctions. In 1996, the company began developing the Ayres LM200 Loadmaster, which was designed to carry 7,500 pounds of cargo. The company acquired the LET aircraft manufacturing company in the Czech Republic in 1998 to support this development effort. However, the company was forced into bankruptcy in 2001 when creditors foreclosed on it and the Loadmaster program was terminated. The company’s assets were bought by Thrush Aircraft in 2003. Ayres Corporation manufactured the Ayres Thrush Single engine agricultural monoplane and had plans to produce the Ayres LM200 Loadmaster, an unbuilt single engine cargo monoplane.