Ayres Corporation

Ayres Corporation was a US aircraft manufacturer founded by Fred Ayres. Originally the firm carried out turboprop conversions to Rockwell Thrush Commander agricultural aircraft, but in 1977 acquired the production rights and facilities for this design from Rockwell International. In 2001, the company was forced into bankruptcy when creditors foreclosed on it. Ayres had been placed in this situation due to $US 60 million which had been spent on developing the Ayres Loadmaster cargo plane, which never actually reached flying stage.

In 2003, the company's assets were bought by Thrush Aircraft.