THRUSH

Thrush Aircraft, Inc. is an American aerospace company headquartered in Albany, Georgia that specializes in manufacturing the Thrush series of agricultural aircraft. The facility was originally built in 1965 by Rockwell International and was later acquired by Ayres Corporation in 1977. However, in 2001, Ayres filed for bankruptcy and the rights to the S-2 aircraft were transferred to Quality Aerospace. Larry Bays and Payne Hughes purchased the factory in 2003 and Quality Aerospace transferred the type certificates of the S-2 to Thrush Aircraft a month later. The company experienced growth, with 150 employees in 2005 and 185 in 2013. The company entered bankruptcy protection for the second time in September 2019, with the intention of restructuring and emerging in a better financial position. As part of the process, 113 employees were laid-off, and Mark McDonald was named CEO. The company introduced the Thrush 510G, a variant designed for firefighting, in 2017.