Commander (Aero Commander / Rockwell) S-2R
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Rockwell S-2R Thrush in turbine form: the same agricultural airframe with a PT6A in place of the radial piston engine. Turbine conversion transforms an ag aeroplane — the engine starts every time, runs thousands of hours, produces more power for less weight and burns Jet-A, which matters in remote operations.
That is why almost every working Thrush is now turbine-powered and why turbine examples are worth several times a piston one. The assessment is otherwise unchanged: hopper capacity, engine time since hot section and overhaul, airframe hours and especially cycles, and corrosion from chemical exposure. The working profile of heavy, low, turbulent flying with very high numbers of takeoffs and landings is punishing. Agricultural flying requires a commercial certificate and documented ag experience for insurance.
Variants of the Thrush S-2R
- S2R · 1965 · 60 active
- S-2R · 1970 · 97 active · this page
- S-2R-800 · 1970 · 1 active
- S2R-T34 · 1986 · 75 active
- S2R-T34HG · 1986 · 0 active
Also consider
- Air Tractor AT-502Score 34.2/50 · 1 seats · 135 kt
- Air Tractor AT-602Score 24/50 · 1 seats · 155 kt
- Air Tractor AT-402BScore 29/50 · 2 seats · 130 kt
Compare with…
Put Commander (Aero Commander / Rockwell) S-2R side by side with up to three other models.
- Commander (Aero Commander / Rockwell) S-2R
Open Commander (Aero Commander / Rockwell) S-2R 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 Canada PT6A-34AG |
| Horsepower | 750 hp |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | CAR3 |
| Production start | 1970 |
| Production end | 1981 |
| Endorsements required | high-performance;tailwheel |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 120 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 300 nm |
| Service ceiling | — |
| Climb rate | — |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 57 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | — |
| Landing over 50 ft | — |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 1 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 3,000 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,995 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 6,900 lb |
| Empty weight | 3,900 lb |
| Usable fuel | 150 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 48 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 turboprop.
| Fuel (burn × price) | hourly | $368/h | $36,768/yr |
| Engine reserve (overhaul ÷ TBO) | hourly | $11,806/yr | |
| Maintenance reserve | hourly | not counted | |
| Insurance | fixed | $15,000/yr | |
| Annual inspection | fixed | not counted | |
| Hangar | fixed | not counted |
Not in the totals: Maintenance reserve, Annual inspection, Hangar. We have no reliable default for these lines; enter your figure to include them.
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 | $150,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $400,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 3,600 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $340,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $510,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 477 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 97 |
| Median year built | 1975.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 14 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 4 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 144.33 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 0 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 9 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 9.28 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 23 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 97 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 97 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 97 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing single-engine, turbo-prop, 1 engine, 1-2 seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 6.1 of 101 |
| Severity | 4 of 102 |
| Access | 4 of 103 |
| Support | 5.8 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 1.1 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 21 out of 506 |
These record scores treat Commander (Aero Commander / Rockwell) S-2R as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes the record of aircraft once registered under AYRES CORP. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 0 · 10 models in class.
- Severity: class median 25.53.
- Access: class median 6,509.
- Support: class median 96.
- Liquidity: class median 23.47.
- 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