PC-21 Pilatus
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PC-21 Pilatus turboprop advanced trainer aircraft
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The Pilatus PC-21 is a turboprop advanced trainer aircraft designed and manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Development of the PC-21 started in January 1999. Roll-out of the PC-21 prototype was on 30 April 2002 at Pilatus' factory in Stans, Switzerland, with the first flight taking place on 1 July of the same year. The second PC-21 prototype flew on 7 June 2004. With air force budgets getting tighter, the all-new PC-21 provides a low-cost but highly effective training platform for pilots destined to fly jet fighters, without actually requiring them to fly jets until much later in the program. The PC-21 far surpasses all other turboprop trainers in terms of aerodynamic performance, cockpit equipment, flexibility and ease of maintenance. The use of state-of-the-art technologies increases both the efficiency and quality of training. Six PC-21 have been delivered to the Swiss Air Force, the first four being delivered in April 2008. In December 2010, the Swiss air force ordered another two. On 21 January 2008, the first PC-21 for the Republic of Singapore Air Force completed its flight test prior to being accepted into service. In 2009, UAE announced an order of 25 PC-21 for the United Arab Emirates Air Force to replace their aging fleet of Pilatus PC-7s. In 2012, the Royal Saudi Air Force (55 aircraft) and the Qatar Emiri Air Force (24 aircraft) have opted for the PC-21. |
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The PC-21 is a completely new aircraft design The aircraft features a tandem-seating arrangement (student in-front/instructor behind) in a bird strike resistant glass canopy with all round vision glass cockpit.
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Systems integration is at the core of the PC-21 cockpit design philosophy. As an advanced aircraft, the cockpit display and control system are configured closely to the concept of the latest generation front-line aircraft which are characterised by a greatly increased pilot workload. Equipped with zero/zero ejection seats, a pressurised tandem cockpit, air-conditioning, an anti-g system and On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS), the PC-21 provides a comfortable, safe training environment. The PC-21 avionics system is a Pilatus design and there is no reliance on third-party integrators or exposure to state controls. Pilatus has used modern avionics standards and an open-system architecture to allow training system designers much greater scope for innovation, adaptation and change.
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The PC-21 is powered by a 1600 shp PT6A-68B engine from Pratt & Whitney Canada which pushes the speed and climb rate of the turboprop into an area that, until now, was exclusively jet territory. The engine is coupled to a five-blade Scimitar graphite propeller made by Hartzell.A digital power management system and automatic yaw compensation make the PC-21 easy to fly at low speed and in the circuit, while providing the performance required for advanced training. The PC-21 is capable of sustained low-level speeds in excess of 323 knots (598 km/h); hydraulically-assisted ailerons and roll spoilers produce fighter-like rates of roll in excess of 200° per second.
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The capabilities of the PC-21 make its ideally suited to a very wide training envelope. It can be used from day one in the training system eliminating the need for an elementary flying training fleet but also bridges the performance gap between traditional Turboprop trainers and expensive leading fighters. The PC-21 therefore provides significant advantages over traditional Turboprops and jet trainers. The technology used in the PC-21 is optimized to provide the most flexible training system in the world. The PC-21 can be equipped with four hardpoints under-wing which can be armed with up to 1,150 kg (2,500 lb) of payload of air-to-ground weapons to operate in the Counter-insurgency role.
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