ActivePaper Archive AirtrukAs Farm General Hand - Sydney Morning Herald Archive, 5/24/1965

AirtrukAs Farm General Hand

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THE Transavia Corporation, Seven Hills, plans to produce its aerial workhorse at the rate of one a week.

It was engineered and designed by the managing director of Transavia Corporation, Mr LUigi Pellarini. He has been closely associated with light aircraft development in Europe, America. Australia and New Zealand for 25 years.

The company has built _ils own airstrip adjoining its factory to enable complete aircraft to be rolled off the production lint and be _flight delivered.

Two have been built, The first was destroyed in tests to determine its safety factors which were reported as being substantially _abo\e maximum requirements,

The Airtruk. is fully aerobatic with a limited load and can be safely spun with n full load. On ferry flights it can carry two passengers b«. hind the pilot.

The twin-tail booms—"lo increase stability and _allow easy access to the hopper section for rapid loading" —are entirely inter_, changeable. So are trie ailerons, flaps, shock absoi*

Design vt«w of the Airtruk. Th_» twMall boon aircraft tt fitted with _^ t_$o 85 d.p. _Contlnantal _tngnMt

By Roger Henning

ber, wheel assemblies and tail planes. The craft has a wing span of 36ft. an overall length of 22ft and a height of 9ft. Powered by two _85-b.p, Continental engines, it has a maximum speed of 140 miles an hour, and an average operational speed of 120 miles an hour. At Bankstown recently, the Airtruk took oft within 40 yards with veteran agricultural pilot Neil Johnstone at the controls, The company was formed in 1956 by Franko Belgiorno _Nettis snd Carlo Saltcrl, two Italian-born engineers. It employs 2,000 In major projects all over Australia. These include transmission lines, power towers, hydro-electric _worVs and power station projects. Cost of the Airtruk, it is claimed, will be less than half of competitive aircraft with comparable performance and load carrying ability—about £14,500.

More than 70 operators are showing interest in the development of a new Australian "Airtruk," specially designed for agricultural work.

Mr' Luigi _Pellarini's Airtruk, designed tot rapid hopper loading and general man-onihe-land chores.