How Is An Airplane Built? Air Tractor Factory Tour
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2021
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Raw materials in... big yellow Air Tractors out. I think that's what was so mind-blowing about our factory tour at Air Tractor. We saw ceiling-high shelves stacked with sheet metal, steel bars that weigh more than both of us combined, and metal tubing in all diameters, thicknesses, and lengths. We then proceeded to see how these materials were used by many skilled hands to build one of the world's most popular ag planes.
We had no idea that almost every component, except for a select few, is made right there in Olney, Texas. Everything from instrument panels, to hoses, to landing gear... there's a little (or large) corner in the factory for every step. Every part, panel, and connection is inspected, generally twice or three times and they are pushing a new airplane out every 22 hours (roughly 4.5 weeks for 402s and 502s, 32 hours for 802s). The logistics alone are jaw-dropping.
Aside from seeing what goes in to manufacturing an airplane, we also got to talk with a few of Air Tractor’s 300 employees. The passion and heart these people are putting into their work is incredible to witness.
We're extremely grateful for the opportunity we had to visit and film while at their headquarters. It should be noted that this video is just a GLIMPSE into the factory and by no means covers every single thing going on. It would take days to cover every corner of the factory but this is a basic look inside what it takes to make a big yellow airplane.
Following this video is a Q & A with Jeff Dobbs, Rick Turner, and Jim Hirsch, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss it.
Thanks also for your understanding of some of the audio qualms in this video. We toured the factory during normal business hours which means people are hard at work and it was a pretty loud environment. In addition to loud background noise, at the time of shooting there was a mask mandate in place so that muffled voices a bit. We are always learning!
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At the time of our visit to Air Tractor, they had a mask mandate in place. They were accepting of our plans to visit, but asked that we wear face masks while in the factory. As visitors into their factory, we, without hesitation, followed their very simple request.
Were we unsure of how the audio would turn out throughout the video because of masks? Absolutely. We found, upon editing, that what in fact interfered most with the audio of the video was that we were touring a factory during operating hours. This meant employees were actively working and there were a lot of loud sounds. We would not change this for a second, because doing a factory tour when no one is working would be very boring.
With the few audio qualms that we encountered, we decided it would be a good idea to offer closed captioning on this video. We spent 6 HOURS writing captioning.
If your only takeaway from this video is the fact that we were wearing masks throughout our tour, that is on you. You missed the mark big time.
I guess it’s on us then. We won’t lose any sleep tonight. It’s been a long day of flying.
This is a great video with so much information and extremely well done. You made the best with what you were faced with, awesome job.
Awesome video
I got the chance to fly in a Ag Cat as a kid in the spray tank .. good memories.
This is an informative, well produced, well-edited video that takes us inside someplace we'd never get the chance to see (or even know exists!).
The anti-mask mafia are obsessed with one thing and aren't interested in learning anything, so the importance or production quality of the video itself would be lost on them anyway. The 22 people who commented on it--in comparison with the 75,000 people who watched this and 212 who commented on other things shouldn't even be looked at like you'd look at crap on the bottom of your shoe.
@Nobody else but me Yes, mafia. Triggered by the sight of a piece of cloth that calls people morons and flips out when they themselves are the morons.
It's not even worth the time trying to explain it to you but try this: Goto example.com, hold your phone out in front of you and say the pledge of allegiance. See that? Those little rainbows on the screen are the spittle that comes flying out of your mouth when you talk.
Now put a mask on properly and do the same thing. If there is still spittle on your phone, I will give personally give you $100.
Cally, that was an excellent tour and Jeff was the "Tour Guide" to make it a most informative day. I retired after about 25 years in electronic production so Jeff's descriptions were very interesting. I was an ISO 9001 inspector for many years. ISO 9001 is a system that documents and works with production manufacturing to ensure that the processes are documented and adhered to in production. The way Jeff described your tour through the factory shows how well they work with that kind of process.
Your audio presentation was just fine... don't even worry about it! Noises on a production floor are part of the environment. I barely noticed them.
Thanks for an excellent presentation.
Thank you, Gary!! I really appreciate the kind comment and you watching. It was really a fun experience and we'd love to return with a full production crew.
This is one of the most detailed airplane factory tour videos. While watching it I became really interested in this type of aviation. Besides, these planes look beautiful! Thanks for the great work!
Glad you liked it. Check out some other videos if you're interested in more content.
As a retired Boeing Quality Inspector I'm very impressed.Cool Video cool Factory.
I toured the Air Tractor factory in 1991 while working as a student worker at Texas A&M. We were headed to the panhandle to do Aerial Applicator spray pattern testing and detoured to Olney for the tour on the way to the panhandle. It was great to see how the place has grown and advanced in 30 years.
Very cool! It definitely seems to be growing quickly.
Air Tractor has invested substantial resources in Technology, which gives them an edge.
I am also an Aggie! Class of 1987
Great video! Very interesting to see the “behind the scenes” of Air Tractor. Can’t wait to learn more about the 1002! Thanks guys!
Thanks for watching James! Yeah we’re excited to see how it develops. Shouldn’t be long.
I live and fly in Northern CA and I see various Air Tractors (and Thrush’s) all the time spraying the rice fields. These things help keep crop yields bountiful and prices low! Thanks for the tour.
Agreed! Thanks for watching.
It's so cool to get a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacturing of these spectacular aircrafts! As Air Tractor's ERP implementation partner, it's awesome to see the processes the software helps run.
I bet! Thanks for watching.
My job gave me the opportunity to visit AT multiple times before and after Mr. Snow's passing. I spent many hours with Jim and Rick and all of your great folks. I'm since retired, but watching these vids show me how much has changed and what has remained the same. I congratulate you on the e-coat prime system (eliminating the hex chrome) and the further development of the rotisserie systems to help employees stay safe. Bravo to the best little airplane plant in Texas!
That's amazing! We had a wonderful visit. All such great people who work there.
Your questions are insightful, interesting to the viewer and seek to tie together the knowledge of the professionals doing the work with the larger audience who knows little about this subject.
In short, this is masterful journalism and filmmaking.
Thank you for the kind words!
Great group of guys at Air Tractor. It is really something to see how fast the factory is going these days.
It was amazing.
After watching the whole video, I have to say this is a well done awesome video and couldn't have found a better man for explaining things than Jeff. The lady did first class job also
Thank you for such a kind comment!!
Use to ferry a few airplanes for Leland Snow back in the 80's. Mr Snow was a soft spoken gentleman and an aeronautical genius, it's good to see that the pandemic hasn't shut down Air Tractor. The 1002 is a very exciting project and Air Tractor should definitely make a fire Boss version of it
That would be quite the experience. They had an issue with employees getting sick early on but they got it taken care of.
I enjoy tours of all kinds of factories. Thanks, this was a good one.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you, enjoyed your video.
My brother and I got to tour around the facility years ago and they have added so much and are still doing a majority of hands on work there. Well done....
They seem to always be adding things. I heard the manufacturer of the flap motor AT is using went out of business and AT ended up buying all the tooling and now will be producing the flap motor as well.
@@AgAviationAdventures And thru some well done engineering via Mr. Snow, the flaps and ailerons are hooked together thru a simple durable mechanism so when you lower the flaps, the ailerons also come down a few degrees, which gives the aircraft good STOL performance.
What a fascinating history to this amazing hard working airplane and its builders,the factory tour could not have been better it showed every aspect of this unique machine that serves the community so well,thank you.
Thanks for watching!
As someone who builds these planes it's always a joy to sit and watch these productions.
For sure!
Thanks for the video!!, its so nice to see a company still put quality and pride into what they build (unlike a new vehicle)
It is refreshing!
Aren't these new vehicles?
Funnest thing for me is driving in areas of the country these are used. The pilots that fly these are amazing. I could watch all day. Looks like an absolute blast. I can’t imagine they actually think they’re working. 😝
Haha thanks for watching. If you’re interested in a cockpit view check out this video.
ua-cam.com/video/t8vbPtaaBJ4/v-deo.html
I am so excited to watch this video, I just saw you uploaded it and I'm very grateful for you taking the time to make it!
Thanks Devyn! We hope you enjoy it.
@@AgAviationAdventures It was very enjoyable, it's one of those things that a lot of people wouldn't want to go and take the time to edit an exact walkthrough of an air tractor Factory. They think that running up to an extra 300L or a 10 million dollar private jet is what people want to see. I think the bigger they get the less they realize what normal aviators are into. I think you nailed it with this video!
Awesome tour! Thank you for taking us along!
Thanks for watching!
Nice to see these are going to be the new air warden, and now seeing the substructure I see why these are so dang rugged.. wonderful workhorses
It’s awesome!
Great Tour Video. I’m originally from Olney and my parents still live in Olney. Lot of guys and gals I grew up with work there. Actually saw one of my friends working on an 802. I met Leland several times and was a warm and kind man.
That’s awesome!
A great story from both the video host and aircraft production tour.. Glad to see an American business doing well !!
Thank you for watching John!
Great to see such a great, industrious, and necessary enterprise, esp out of a small town here in Texas. We can't lose industries like this to overseas manufacturing. Kickin' ass!
You are right about that!
Very cool video. It speaks volumns about a company's quality when they are willing to disclose so much about their manufacturing processes.
The workers are true American craftsmen right there!
So true, they are craftsmen!
This is a cool video from start to finish. There's so much that goes into the design, building and maintaining of these beautiful planes. Really cool to see it all. Thanks!!!!!!
Thanks for watching Gregg!
That 802 is a beast & thanks for the Texas ground tour. She's a workhorse for sure.
Thanks for watching!
This is a well-made production. Looks more like craftsmanship than mass production.
Agreed!
Thank you for this video. Great to see the production process of Air Tractor!
We appreciate you watching.
Very efficient assembly plant and super clean. I am impressed with your facility and operations! Thank you for the tour.
Thanks for watching Rod.
Thank you Air Tractor for your help with our wildfire situation. We are grateful to all the fire fighting aviation companies up here in BC Canada. There are reliable Air Tractors in the air right now fighting fires.
Thanks for watching Warp!
I work for XeVision, we make upgrade owner replacement lighting for the Air Tractor products. Our HID and LED lighting solutions for the cowl lights, underwing retractable lights and the turn lights. Our new LED replacement lights are 2.5 to 3X brighter (Candela /Lux /Lumens) than ANY competitors lights, currently on the world wide market. Our LED lamp outputs don't dim after extended use from getting hot (ours don't get hot). Also, our exclusive strobe effect, greatly more attention getting than basic wigwag or pulsing. Our website will be updated shortly to include this new disruptive LED technology, a great benefit for nighttime spray ops. and for firefighting ops. as well. Great to see this factory in full operation.
That sounds awesome! I’d love to see them in action.
@@AgAviationAdventures Will you be at OSH ?
No we’ll be spraying. but we spend quite a bit of time paragliding at point of the mountain in Draper, UT if you guys are just based in Ogden.
@@AgAviationAdventures Yes, you are welcome to come by KOGD for a visit. I learned and flew hang gliders there back in the late 70's, before I moved up to mountain flying and later airplanes. It seems paragliding has eclipsed hang gliding to a large extent.
A great behind-the-scene tour of this fabulous aircraft.
Thanks for watching David.
What a fantastic fantastic product... And the stars and stripes hanging from the shop ceiling says it all.
Absolutely!
I have been an aerospace machinist and fabricator for 36 years working for Boeing , Lucas Varity , and now finishing my career with Parker Hannifin Aerospace. I would love to have worked on the ag side instead of commercial military stuff. The Thrush aircraft are built about 100 miles from my home here in Ga. Air tractors are sleek swift and powerful aircraft that have changed air agriculture over the years. The Pratt Whitney engines are works of art in themselves. The 802 is my favorite. The big 5 blade prop reminds me of the P51 Mustang aircraft. It is big fast and can carry a big payload. Love to see them fly. Thanks for the tour...
Thanks for watching!
Brilliant visit to the factory, I have a Radio Controlled E-Flite Air Tractor and it flies like a dream.
Thanks Louis!
Thanks Jeff! What a beautiful beast of an aircraft! A legendary workhorse!
Thanks for watching!!
I really enjoyed this video and the fascinating subject matter. Thanks to everyone involved for your efforts.
Thanks for watching!
WOW I remember when Cornhusker Ag Aviation bought there 1st 802 back in the 90's, I thought there would never be a bigger Ag plane then that. can't wait too see the 1002.
We can’t wait either!
Excellent video...I had to subscribe and watch this...such an amazing story of how these planes are built from basic raw materials.
Thanks for watching!
Totally instructive. The labor-intensive production showed truly hand built. Great.
Thanks for watching!
Mis más sinceras felicitaciones a todo el personal de Air Tractor.
Tuve el Privilegio de volar en un AT-301 por más de 30 años esas aeronaves en Venezuela y fue un Privilegio aún mayor haber conocido a su Fundador Leland Snow en 1973.
Dios permita que su legado dure por muchos años más.
Muchas gracias por el comentario. Increíble que hayas podido conocer a Leland. Su legado ciertamente sigue vivo aquí en los USA y es evidente en la fábrica.
To cool that red and white one on amphibs looks just awsome thanks for the tour!
Thanks for watching!
I think I’ve watched this video maybe 10-15 times. If I ever go over to the US I’d love to visit the Air Tractor factory. Seeing this is the next best thing. They are by far the best built agricultural aircraft in the world and Leyland Snow left behind such a legacy. I don’t think there is any other videos out there as insightful as this one, thanks for going to the effort of filming and putting this together!
Thanks so much for this comment! We appreciate you watching!
That 1002 is going to be one helluva BEAST!! 🚀🚀🚀
You’re right about that!
very good,thank you.its nice to see behind the scenes of places like this.
Thanks for watching.
Great tour. This is a very efficient factory. After watching this it's amazing that Boeing produces 38 737's a month in Renton Washington. That's slightly more than 1 a day just like this great company.
That is crazy to think about!
Wow incredible, really good video, that guy knows his company inside out
Jeff definitely knows it inside and out.
Great video! Thanks for the tour and your hard work on the captions, I know those are a pain to put together.
Thanks for watching!
Greetings from central Michigan and thanks for sharing the factory tour it reminded me of working at a spray service over twenty years ago with our thrush airplane spraying mostly potatoes with fungicide and also working with other spray services with air tractors and dash ten thrush airplanes
I have some friends that spray a ton of potatoes on the border of Michigan and Indiana. Seems like a great area.
Outstanding review of the AirTractor history.
Thanks Chris!
A very educational video I can see there is so much pride and care in the manufacture of the plane
That’s very true. They take a lot of pride in their work.
@@AgAviationAdventures It shows!
What I like about AirTractor is that they where made to be worked on! Not just thrown together and the hell with the poor guy that has to fix it! Leland was a fantastic Man!
So true.
Great video! I have toured Thrush in Albany, and this pretty much saves me a trip to Onley. Thanks!
Thanks for watching Lane!
I haven't even watched the entire video yet and I already upvoted it! Great content as always, guys!
Thanks!
Bagaces, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, Saludos JC Salas
@@saltoragricultura3332 Saludos hasta Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, Costa Rica! Pura vida!
GREAT WORKS!
Thanks!
I really enjoyed this video!
Thank you John!
Absolutely fabulous!
Thanks!
Outstanding job!
Thank you very much!
Excellent video, very informative. Reminded me of when I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the LearJet factory in Tuscon, back in 1983, similar story, everything made by hand.
Thanks for watching!! It's pretty neat to see, that's for sure.
I logged a lot of hours in a AirTracktor back in the early 80's , also fkew a Thrush Aero Commander 600
That’s great! I began my career in a thrush.
I admire aviators that keep the ag world alive....Well done
Outstanding, Love all what I see here, Thank you and Congats!
Thank you!!
This is fantastic, wish you had spent more time in weld shop and closeups of production.....had no problem with the audio.....I live in Orlando Florida and about 2008 they were modifying AirTractors to use in the Middle East within a mile of my house , they were some sort of military plane, painted in olive drab......they were always flying about testing, what a great sight to see....thank you so much for this video....Paul
The 802U. It’s a very cool aircraft. I’d love to have guns mounted :)
@@AgAviationAdventures please have a very successful spraying season, glad I found your channel and subscribed....Cheers, Paul
This is such an awesome video!!!
Thanks! We appreciate you watching.
I was able t understand the conversations perfectly. Good job!
Thank you!
Is great video, interesting, I enjoy so much this tour! Thanks for video and thanks all of you!
Thanks for watching!
I pass through Olney TX often and have always wanted to see the factory. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Fantastic video.
Ag planes rock!!
Thanks Tony!
I would love to see one of these built with NO intention of it being a "working" agricultural aircraft. Like a nice interior and modern avionics, no hopper or sprayer, and a slick paint scheme! Just a cool hot rod single seat pilots toy!
Ha! That would be sweet!
I never thought of these as beautiful until I saw these new ones.
They are beautiful in person!
Former Boeing Everett... very impressive manufacturing processes. Obviously a 747 is a bit larger than what is built in this factory, but in some regards those aircraft are even more complicated. Old School space frame structure very light and very strong. Built a few NASCAR race cars over the years and tubing for roll cage and structure is very detailed to cut and fit. Saw automated tubing cutting with perfect 'birds eye' every time.
22 hour Takt Time per manufacturing station helps control build times. I was part of Boeing Lean Manufacturing and we pushed Takt Time faster and faster. Start to finish 4 1/2 weeks for a complete aircraft is impressive. After I left Boeing, I moved to a smaller city. Just down the street, we have an aircraft manufacturing plant that produces the Super Cub. They don't compete in same market as does Air Tractor. We do have lots of agriculture here and crop dusters are a common sight. Both fixed wing and helicopters are used extensively here.
Thanks for the tour... aviation aficionado
Wow sounds like you’ve had some great experiences. Thanks for watching.
@@AgAviationAdventures Enjoyed the video. Always educational to see a plane built from pile of expensive parts to final cert. Club Crafters make the Super Cub. They are close by. I almost went to work for them after leaving Boeing and Everett.
Awesome tour guys I'm a big fan of everything aviation
Thanks!
Great video. I wondered what Air Tractor factory looked like.
Thanks for watching.
I really enjoyed the video! Thanks
Thank you doe watching!
I built my second aircraft next door to this factory. I went there a couple times for help, really good people there and a great company, unbelievable turbo planes. Muy podorosa
That’s really cool! What a wealth of knowledge.
Fantastic video! Thanks.
Thanks for watching!
That was a great presentation. Thanks
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hard Core Hand Built.... A thing of beauty :O)
Very true!
Hello everybody, specially the technical team , really it's pleasure for me to see that
Thanks for watching!
OMG..😱😱😱 AMAZING WORK
Thanks Carlos!
Absolute awesome video thank you
Thanks for watching!
Great video, thank you I see a lot of them in iowa!
I bet! Iowa does have quite a few around. Thanks for watching!
Great job on the video Ag!
Thanks!
Great video. Really fascinating. Thank you.
Thanks for watching Steve.
That was really awesome.
Thanks for watching Ron.
loved it amazing how its done
Thanks for watching.
I'm a machine maintenance tech at Hartzell Propeller that supplies props for Air Tractor...proud to say we make the best props in the world!
They are great props!!
A Very Very Well Done and Professional Documentary, I Really Enjoyed It, Keep up the Great Work, Chellie
Thanks for watching!
What a great video. First time watching this that came up on my feeds. Subscribed.
Glad you found us! We appreciate you being here.
Just found this channel, and the content is awesome!
Thanks! Glad to have you.
too cool of a video. thanks for sharing. thanks for CC
Thanks for watching!
Excellent tour.
Thanks for watching.
I remember stealing one if these off a farmers field and going joyriding around lake Apopka many years ago..
😂
@@AgAviationAdventures we also had an ag cat and an aviat husky for the banner company I worked for on one of the farms..The owner?a complete dickhead that would say he would but never take me up in any of the planes, had me change the 18 spark plugs on the ag cat and safety wire them all..Needless to say when I was done I took the. Ag cat for a spin as well, that shit was scary as hell bringing it back down on the dirt strip..He knew the thing was moved when he got back from flying banners but he never found out that I flew it around the lake a few times...Eric P August was his name..A former. Vietnam military pilot...I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I crashed that thing smh...
@@jamesholt7340 calm down Jay
No u didn't..... It's the web.... We can do anything.......😏
Sure you did.
I loved this video, really good, thank you very much!!
Thanks so much!
Thanks for the tour!
You bet!
You bet!
My uncle currently is fying one of these as ag pilot for a banana plantation here in philippines. Pretty realiable plane..nice to see how its made.
Thanks for watching!
Very nice capture and visit.
Thank you!! It was a memorable experience that's for sure.
Great tour, would love to see a CESSNA in depth tour, showing assembly sequence would be most helpful to us engineers in maintenance (eg on older a/c metal fuel tank assy with vent valve) 🇦🇺🤔🤞
That would be a great tour!
Very interesting. Thank you for the video.
Thanks for watching!
Very informative thank you.
Thank you for watching!