Ahrens AR404

The Ahrens AR 404 is a monoplane four-engined plane of American regional transport.

Origin

Ahrens Aircraft Corp was consisted Peter Ahrens in 1975 in Oxnard, California, to develop an aircraft of economic regional transport with takeoff and short landing. AR 404 was presented in the form of a monoplane to high wing having to transport 30 passengers or 4 containers standard freight of type LD3. To facilitate the operations of loading/unloading of these containers the fuselage had a rectangular section with angles rounded constant over the entire length of the cabin, with a back loading ramp, and the principal landing gear was retracted in careenages located on both sides of the fuselage. This apparatus was designed to receive 4 turbines of low power Allison 250, but a version equipped with 2 turbines Garrett AiResearch of 1.000 CH was also considered, just like a version embarked for replace the Grumman C-2 Greyhound of the US Navy.

Development

Controlled by the famous pilot Hermann `Fish' Salmon, the prototype took the air the December 1st, 1976. The government of Porto-Rico being engaged to finance the expenses of certification of the apparatus and a series of 18 apparatuses, provided the production is locally assured, Ahrens Aircraft Inc was created in 1977 in Ramey, Puerto Rico, where a factory was put in building site. Peter Ahrens affirmed that a complete certification could be obtained in 12 months and that a thousand of Porto Ricans without particular aeronautical experiment quickly pouraient to produce 4 planes per month. An apparatus of preproduction was well built and took the air on October 26th, 1979, but the Porto Rican administration withdrew finally project, seems T it under the pressure of Washington, whereas a hundred intentions of orders seemed to be signed, and that three standard appliances were in the course of completion. The program was abandoned in 1984 and Peter Ahrens left in Nouvelle Zealand to found Speciality Aircraft Services there. In 1987 Bromon Aircraft Corp was founded, always in Ramey, to try to start again the manufacture of the AR 404, which was posed as one conceived interesting with the Shorts 330 or GAF NOMAD. Fault of financial means, Bromon Aircraft disappeared in 1992.

A preserved apparatus

A fuselage was used a long time as snack bar on road PR-2 in Aguada, Porto-Rico. This one disappeared today, but Prinair Historical Association tries today (August 2007) to save the fuselage of which is always in Ramey.

External bonds

http://avia.russian.ee/air/usa/ahrens_ar-404.php

Sources

Michael J.H. Taylor, Jane' S Encyclopedia off Aviation. Studio Editions, London (1989).
Jim Winchester, The World' S Worst Aircraft (2005).

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