Pilatus Aircraft Ltd has bagged three orders for its PC-21 turboprop trainer for a total 21 aircraft.
Pilatus Aircraft Ltd has bagged three orders for its PC-21 turboprop trainer for a total 21 aircraft.
The $295 million deal consist 17 aircraft for the French Air Force and two each for the Royal Jordanian Air Force and QinetiQ, a British company which operates the "Empire Test Pilots' School". Together.
The French Air Force (Armée de l'air française) PC-21s will be used to train future military pilots who will transfer to the Alpha Jet prior to their conversion on to the omnirole Dassault Rafale fighter jet.
The contract signed on the 30th December 2016 by the French Air Force is with Babcock Mission Critical Services France (BMCSF), with Pilatus as a sub-contractor.
Under the contract concluded with QinetiQ, a British company, Pilatus will provide two PC-21s to the "Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS)" based in Wiltshire, in the south of England. Operated by QinetiQ, ETPS functions as a training centre for flight test engineers and test pilots, and enjoys an excellent reputation worldwide.
The Royal Jordanian Air Force which ordered has ordered 8 PC-2s in early 2016, exercised the option clause in the contract to bring the total aircraft on order to 10.
The first deliveries will be undertaken mid-2017.
Powered by a single P&WC PT6A-68B turboprop engine rated at 1600 shp, the PC-21 is 11.233 m long and have a wing span of 9.108 m.
The PC-21 is capable of sustained low-level speeds in excess of 323 knots (598 km/h).
