Kingsford Smith Cropmaster
The Kingsford Smith KS -3 Cropmaster was an agricultural aircraft that was converted from retired by the RAAF CAC Wackett - training aircraft by Kingsford Smith Aviation Service.
History and construction
John Brown OBE bought 1946 Kingsford Smith Aviation Service (the company was founded by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in 1933 ) and made several attempts to develop an agricultural aircraft for Australian conditions. Since the RAAF were retired their Wackett - trainer aircraft, these were available. Man seized at Kingsford Smith the opportunity and built a machine. Instead of the front seat, a chemical container has been installed and this machine was called KS-1, after further modifications, it was renamed KS -2. However, this design proved to be unfavorable, since this the pilot's visibility was limited, so we rebuilt the machine again. The chemical container has now einbaute in place of the rear seat. In addition, the wings and the tail unit has been modified. This machine now called KS -3 was launched on November 29, 1957 for the first time. Four other Wacketts were converted to KS -3. The model was further developed and refined it by the Yeoman Aviation, a subsidiary of Kingsford Smith, Yeoman Cropmaster.