Transavia Airtruk
Data for PL12-U Airtruk unless stated otherwise
TYPE: Agricultural aircraft.
PERIOD BUILT: 1961-1993
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: New Zealand design, built in Australia
ENGINE: One Continental IO-520-D fuel injected flat six piston engine (PL12-U), or one Textron Lycoming IO-540 fuel injected flat six piston engine (T-300A), both of 300 hp / 225 kW.
DIMENSIONS:
Wing span: 39 ft. 11 in / 12.15 m
Length: 20 ft 10 in. / 6.35 m
Height: 9 ft 2 in / 2.79 m.
WEIGHTS:
Empty: 1,830 lb / 830 kg
Maximum: 3,800 lb / 1723 kg
PERFORMANCE:
Max. cruising speed: 102 kt / 188 kph
Initial climb: 800 ft / 244 m. per min.
Service ceiling: 10,500 ft.
Range: 700 n.m. / 1295 km. with max. fuel.
CAPACITY: Pilot, with seats for two passengers with chemical hopper. The PL12-U seats five without the hopper.
Luigi Pellarini originally designed what was the Waitomo Airtruck in New Zealand during the 1950s, with the aircraft to employ components of wartime Texan/Harvard aircraft. Its unique tall, stubby fuselage and separated twin tail booms allowed accommodation for passengers and an agricultural hopper, with reduced rear-fuselage contamination by the hopper chemicals, and easy loading.
The Airtruck first flew on 2 Aug. 1960. The design was not to enter production in New Zealand, but was further developed in Australia by Transavia, replacing the original design's Pratt & Whitney engine with a flat six Continental. Deliveries of the PL12 began in 1966. The PL12-U of 1971 introduced the option of five utility seats in place of the hopper. The improved T-300 Skyfarmer appeared in the same year. The ultimate version was the flat-eight powered T-400 of which four were delivered to China.
An Airtruk appeared in the post-nuclear world of the Mad Max movie series alongside some bizarre ground vehicles. Though the aircraft only needed a little makeup to appear worn, it needed no change to pass as a machine rebuilt from odd components in some dramatic flying scenes.
In 2001, eight years after production ended, seven Airtruks and seven Skyfarmers remained on the Australian civil register.