# Leland Snow > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leland_Snow > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leland_Snow.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Snow > Source revision: 1346220381 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Snow Aeronautical and Air Tractor founder}} {{Infobox person | name = Leland Snow | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Henry Leland Snow[https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/snow-henry-leland The Life and Legacy of Henry Leland Snow: Pioneer of Agricultural Aviation] | birth_date = {{birth date|1930|5|31}} | birth_place = [Brownsville, Texas](/source/Brownsville%2C_Texas) | death_date = {{death date and age|2011|2|20|1930|5|31}} | death_place = [Wichita Falls, Texas](/source/Wichita_Falls%2C_Texas) | other_names = | occupation = Aeronautical engineer | years_active = | known_for = Founder of [Snow Aeronautical](/source/Snow_Aeronautical) and [Air Tractor](/source/Air_Tractor) | notable_works = | spouse = {{marriage|Nancy Lynn Bacon|1964}} | children = 2 }} '''Leland Snow''' (May 31, 1930 – February 20, 2011) was an American aeronautical engineer known for designing and developing agricultural aircraft.{{cite book |last1=Snow |first=Leland |title=Putting dreams to flight |date=2008 |publisher=Midwestern State University Press |isbn=9780915323173 |edition= 1st}}{{cite news |title=Leland Snow, Air Tractor Founder, Dies at 80 |url=https://www.flyingmag.com/news/leland-snow-air-tractor-founder-dies-80 |accessdate=June 18, 2018 |work=[Flying](/source/Flying_(magazine)) |date=February 24, 2011 |language=en}}{{cite news |title=Great Planes |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/great-planes/ |accessdate=June 18, 2018 |work=Texas Monthly |date=November 12, 2015}} He was the founder and president of both [Snow Aeronautical](/source/Snow_Aeronautical) (in 1956), and [Air Tractor](/source/Air_Tractor) (1972).{{cite news |title=Gone West: Air Tractor Founder Leland Snow {{!}} Aero-News Network |url=http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=eb01c528-9cd7-4ba7-9839-2dd7bca36655 |accessdate=June 18, 2018 |work=www.aero-news.net |date=February 22, 2011}} [[File:N3695F Snow S2A crop duster.jpg|thumb|An early [Snow S2A](/source/Snow_S-2) crop duster, with forward mounted cockpit, at Pima Air Museum]] [[File:Braunschweig Airport Helicópteros del Pacífico Air Tractor AT-802 CC-DER (DSC00386).jpg|thumb|One of Snow's later designs, a Pratt & Whitney PT-6A turboprop powered [Air Tractor AT-802](/source/Air_Tractor_AT-802), registered in Chile, but seen in Germany on loan to rescEU for firefighting duties, 2024]] Snow began designing the '''Snow S-1''' [crop duster](/source/aerial_application) aircraft in 1951 when he was 21 years old. By 1953 the aircraft was completed and test flown, and Snow began dusting and spraying both in Texas and elsewhere. After four years of field trials, Snow founded the [Snow Aeronautical Company](/source/Snow_Aeronautical) and started production of the [Snow S-2](/source/Snow_S-2) at [Olney, Texas](/source/Olney%2C_Texas). Snow sold the company to [Rockwell-Standard](/source/Rockwell_International) in 1965, and as part of the deal became vice president of its [Aero Commander](/source/Aero_Commander) division, manufacturers of a whole range of [general aviation](/source/general_aviation) aircraft.{{cite web |title=Our Heritage / Leland Snow |url=https://airtractor.com/about/our-heritage |website=Air Tractor (.com)|accessdate=29 September 2024}} Rockwell continued production at Olney for a while, initially marketing the aircraft as the '''S-2D Ag Commander''', and with further improvements and production moved to Georgia, it became the '''Rockwell S-2R Thrush Commander'''. In 1977 the design was sold on the Ayres Corporation who produced it as the [Ayres S-2R Thrush](/source/Ayres_Thrush), and in 2003 after yet another transfer and further modifications, an aircraft based on the original Snow design saw it manufactured and sold as the '''Thrush Corporation 510'''{{efn|each subsequent change of manufacturer saw more derivatives, different engine options, and increased tank capacities, and eventually a name that omits the '"S-2" element, but all can be traced back to the Snow S-2}} where it was still in production in 2024, over 60 years after its first flight. Meanwhile, back in 1970, with Rockwell's S-2R production moved to Georgia, Leland Snow resigned as Vice-President, allowing him to found [Air Tractor Inc](/source/Air_Tractor) in 1972, back once again at Olney, Texas. His design for their first aircraft was obviously influenced by his experience with the S-2, but the [AT-300](/source/Air_Tractor_AT-300) required a new type certificate, awarded in 1973. Snow continued to expand the company and the range of aircraft produced, right up until his death on February 20, 2011, in [Wichita Falls, Texas](/source/Wichita_Falls%2C_Texas).{{cite news |title=Air Tractor founder dies |url=https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2011/february/22/air-tractor-founder-dies |accessdate=June 18, 2018 |work=www.aopa.org |date=February 22, 2011}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==Notes== {{notelist}} ==External links== *[http://www.airtractor.com Official website] {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Leland}} Category:2011 deaths Category:People from Olney, Texas Category:20th-century American inventors Category:American businesspeople {{US-inventor-stub}} --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leland Snow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Snow) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leland_Snow?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.