Ayres Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer owned and run by Fred Ayres.
History
In 1977, Ayres bought the Albany, Georgia division of Rockwell International, which made the S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft.[1] Before this, Ayres had been a distributor of Thrush Commanders. After the acquisition, Ayres developed two-seat and turboprop-powered versions of the Thrush Commander.
By 1981, the company was operating a crop-dusting training school.[2] A special V-1-A Vigilante version of the Thrush Commander was developed in 1989 for anti-drug operations in South America.[3] 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.[4]