PILATUS PC-7 TURBO TRAINER

Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a modern Swiss-made training aircraft. The machine was built in a low wing configuration and has a three-support undercarriage that retracts in flight. The prototype flight took place in 1966, but serial production only started in 1978 and is still ongoing. Over 600 copies of this machine were created in its course. The plane is 9.78 meters long with a wingspan of 10.4 meters. The drive is provided - in the PC-7 version - by a single Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-25A engine with a power of 550 HP. The model PC-7 Turbo Trainer was developed as a grassroots initiative of the Swiss company Pilatus Flugzeugwerke, which aimed to expand its commercial offer with a modern initial and basic training aircraft. In order to reduce the development costs of the new aircraft, it was based on the P-3 model while working on the PC-7. The main changes were mainly related to the use of a different power unit and the improvement of aerodynamic properties. Three main variants were developed in the course of production: PC-7 (basic version), PC-7 Mk. II (version with a modified fuselage and cockpit structure and a different engine) and NCPC-7 (version with enriched avionics, dedicated to the Swiss Air Force). Machines of this type have been or are used in many countries of the world, e.g. Austria, Iraq, Uruguay or Switzerland.