Air Tractor AT-301
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The AT-301 is the original Air Tractor, designed by Leland Snow after he left the company that became Ayres and started again in Texas. It is a single-seat agricultural taildragger with a 600 hp radial, a 300-gallon hopper and the wire-cutter and crashworthy cockpit structure that define the category.
It is the piston ancestor of the whole Air Tractor line, and like the piston Thrushes most working examples have been converted to turbine power, which transforms the aeroplane and its value. As a purchase it is industrial equipment: hopper capacity, engine time, airframe hours and cycles, and corrosion from chemical exposure, which is what finally retires these airframes. Air Tractor remains in business and is the largest ag aircraft manufacturer, which helps parts support considerably.
Variants of the Air Tractor AT-301
- AT-301 · 1973 · 84 active · this page
Also consider
- Grumman G-164BScore 26/50 · 1 seats · 95 kt
- Commander (Aero Commander / Rockwell) S2RScore 19.3/50 · 1 seats · 100 kt
- Cessna A188BScore 30.7/50 · 1 seats · 100 kt
Compare with…
Put Air Tractor AT-301 side by side with up to three other models.
- Air Tractor AT-301
Open Air Tractor AT-301 in Compare
Watch this model
One email a day if anything changes: new ADs and NTSB records.
What it is
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | taildragger |
| Engines | 1 |
| Engine | Pratt & Whitney R-1340 (radial) |
| Horsepower | 600 hp |
| Fuel | 100LL |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1973 |
| Production end | 1980 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 105 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 300 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | — |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 55 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 3,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 2,460 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,000 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,000 lb |
| Usable fuel | 90 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 33.6 gal/h |
Estimated cost to own
An estimate, not a quote. Change the inputs to match how you would fly it. Defaults are for a single-engine piston, 1–2 seats.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $249/h | $24,898/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $10,208/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | $1,500/yr | |
| Insurance | fixed | $1,400/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | $1,500/yr | |
| Hangar | fixed | $6,000/yr | |
| Rental rate, wet | for comparison |
How these estimates are built. Fuel = this model's typical burn x the national average price from AirNav's Fuel Price Report (100LL $7.41, Jet A $7.66 per gallon, 5 Oct 2026; your airport may differ by $2 or more). Engine reserve = typical overhaul cost / TBO for this engine. The remaining lines are class-level defaults, not quotes for this aircraft: annual inspection is the base inspection fee (findings are counted in the per-hour maintenance line); insurance assumes an instrument-rated owner with time in type and a $1M liability limit - less experienced pilots commonly pay 1.5-2x; hangar and tie-down are national mid-tier figures, with rural and metro options; the rental rate is a 2026 flight-school rate for a comparable aircraft, including fuel. Twin and turboprop maintenance defaults are estimates, not published figures. Sources: AirNav, BWI Aviation Insurance (2019-2026), Flying (May 2026), Savvy Aviation, American Flight Schools, published airport rate sheets. Every default is editable - change any number to match your situation. Depreciation, taxes, financing and major upgrades are not included. Depreciation is not included. An estimate, not a quote.
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $40,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $140,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 1,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $90,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $155,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 506 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 84 |
| Median year built | 1981.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 11 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 130.95 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 17 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 20.24 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 8 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 84 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 84 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 84 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, piston, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 9.7 of 101 |
| Severity | 8.4 of 102 |
| Access | 3 of 103 |
| Support | 4.9 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 5.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 31.1 out of 506 |
- Accident record: class median 31.56 · 197 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 1,000.75.
- Support: class median 89.
- Liquidity: class median 19.74.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories. When accident record and severity cannot be scored because the model has too few records, the other three give a partial score out of 30, labelled as such; it is never set against a full score.
Data as of: FAA registry Sep 28 · NTSB Oct 2 · ADs Oct 6 · scores Sep 30