Grumman
Grumman G164B AGcat
Manufacturer Grumman
First flight 1957
Introduction 1957

The Grumman G-164 Ag Cat is a single-engined biplane agricultural aircraft, developed by Grumman in the 1950s.

In 1955, Grumman preliminary design engineers Joe Lippert and Arthur Koch proposed the design for a "purpose-built" crop-dusting airplane as a means of fulfilling a pressing need in the agricultural community, as well as the perceived need for Grumman to diversify its product lines. The initial market survey indicated that 100 to 200 of this type could be sold each year. Lippert's initial proposal was made under the project name "Farmair 1000".

G164A on floatsThe first G-164, which was built by Grumman (N74054), was equipped with a Continental W670 Series 6A-16 powerplant. The aircraft had its maiden flight on May 27, 1957, with Grumman test pilot Hank Kurt at the controls. This initial flight test consisted of three short familiarization hops with the take-off weight set at 3122 lb and the center of gravity at 31.2%. Flight tests 2 and 3, with test pilot Victor Eble, were accomplished on May 28, 1958, to evaluate its general flight characteristics. In total, 46 test flights were completed by the end of August 1958 with a general finding that this was a well-behaved aircraft with only minor refinements needed before production.