Ayres Corporation

In 1977, Ayres bought the Albany, Georgia division of Rockwell International, which made the S2R Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft.

[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] In 1996, urged on by Federal Express, development was begun on the Ayres LM200 Loadmaster, designed to carry 7,500 pounds of cargo.

[5] The aircraft was to be powered by two 1350 hp LHTEC TP800 driving a single five-bladed Hamilton-Standard propeller through a combining gearbox.

To support this development effort, Ayres acquired the LET aircraft manufacturing company in the Czech Republic in September 1998.