Who founded Air Tractor?

Short answer

Air Tractor is the work of Leland Snow, who had already designed his first crop-dusting plane, the S-1, in 1951, and had sold his earlier company, Snow Aeronautical, to Rockwell-Standard in 1965. After leaving Rockwell in 1970, he spent two years designing the first Air Tractor; the company was founded in 1974.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

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From the S-1 to Snow Aeronautical

Leland Snow designed his first crop-dusting airplane, the S-1, in 1951, at age 21. By age 23 he had completed the S-1's test flights, in 1953. That aircraft worked dusting and spraying jobs in Texas's Rio Grande Valley and in Nicaragua until 1957. Snow moved his aircraft production operation to Olney, Texas, where he established The Snow Aeronautical Company. He then introduced the S-2A and S-2B models and built a factory in Olney that opened in 1958.

A stint at Rockwell

In 1965 he sold Snow Aeronautical to Rockwell-Standard and was named vice president of Rockwell's Aero Commander division. He resigned from Rockwell in 1970 and spent the next two years designing the first Air Tractor.

The AT-300 and the new company

Construction of the Air Tractor AT-300, later renamed the AT-301, began in 1972. The company was founded in 1974 and began production with a new agricultural aircraft derived from the S-2B.