1st Generation

In first-generation agricultural aircraft, the chemical tank was usually located behind the pilot. In the early period, two-seat biplane aircraft were most commonly used for agricultural aviation work. These were predominantly training and reconnaissance-bomber aircraft from military aviation. In the USA, the light bomber De Havilland DH-4, produced under licence in the United States, was most commonly used. In the USSR in 1928, the two-seat, biplane training and multi-purpose aircraft Polikarpov U-2 was developed, which was soon adapted for spraying and dusting. When the first helicopters appeared, this type of flying machine was also employed for agricultural work. After World War II, surplus military aircraft were used – bombers, transports and multi-purpose types.

The next step was the development of multi-purpose aircraft for which, among other capabilities, the possibility of fitting spraying and dusting equipment was envisaged. In the USSR and satellite countries, the primary agricultural aircraft that replaced the Po-2 in this role (also inheriting the evocative nickname “kukuruznik”) was the biplane, single-engine An-2. Designed by Oleg Antonov in 1946 at the request of the USSR Ministry of Forestry, the aircraft in its SCh and R versions was used for agricultural aviation work. Multi-purpose aircraft with agricultural aviation capability also include lighter designs, examples of which are the Yakovlev Yak-12 and the Aero L-60 Brigadyr – a single-engine, multi-purpose high-wing monoplane with fixed undercarriage.