Pilatus Aircraft

Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aircraft and aerospace manufacturer based in Stans, Switzerland.

The company mainly produced aircraft for niche markets, particularly short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, as well as military training aircraft. In the 1950s and 1960s, Pilatus developed a light civilian short takeoff and landing (STOL) transport aircraft, the PC-6 Porter. In 1973, a decision was made to resume development of a turbine version with a P-3 piston engine, which entered production as the PC-7 Turbo Trainer. In 1979, Pilatus acquired Britten-Norman, manufacturer of the Britten-Norman Islander and Britten-Norman Defender aircraft. In the 1980s, it developed the PC-9, an improved derivative of the PC-7.

In the 1990s, Pilatus opened up a wider civilian market with the introduction of the PC-12, a single-engine turboprop aircraft, and by April 2021 had delivered 1,800 units. In the first decade of the 21st century, it also introduced a new member of its military training aircraft family, the PC-21 turboprop aircraft. In 2010, the company developed the PC-24, a twin-engine STOL jet aircraft that can operate from unpaved runways.

Company history

In August 1938, Vickers offered Spitfire aircraft to the Swiss Kriegstechnische Abteilung (KTA). Antoine Gazda, working as a sales manager at Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, negotiated a licensing agreement with Vickers and offered the Swiss-made Spitfire to the Flugwaffe. On October 21, 1938, an association called "Studiengesellschaft zur Gründung einer Flugzeugfabrik AG" was founded and the company's future headquarters in Stans was designated. However, the authorities decided to purchase complete aircraft from Messerschmitt in Germany. Without the now obsolete "Studiengesellschaft," Emil Bührle and Gazda continued the project and founded Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG on December 16, 1939 with the help of Elektrobank. Construction of the production building began in March 1940. Once established, the company was awarded maintenance and repair contracts for the Swiss Air Force. The new company's first venture was the assembly of EKW C-35 reconnaissance biplanes from spare parts, along with overhaul work on other types.

The company's first proposal to the Swiss Air Force was a single-seat training aircraft, designated P-1, although there is no record of any work done on it, and two drawings do not even mention the name of the project, (discovered in federal archives). Another project was the detailed SB-2 Pelican, designed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The five-seat experimental aircraft was flown for the first time on May 30, 1944, and only one example of the type was built, resulting in financial losses for the company higher than it was ever paid for.

In 1942, the company won a contract from the Swiss military to modify the 33 EKW C-3603.Continuing with the abandoned P-1 project, the company resumed work on a two-seat training aircraft, designated the P-2.The first flight of the P-2 took place on April 27, 1945, and the company won an order for the Swiss Air Force.

In 1945, the company produced a prototype of a single-engine light transport aircraft, designated the P-4. The first flight took place on March 22, 1948, but only one P-4 was eventually completed. In the late 1940s, the company produced a number of wooden glider designs, and was also involved in the manufacture of fuselages and tail beams for the De Havilland Vampire and Venom, which were produced under license.

In 1951, the company worked on the P-5, an artillery observation aircraft project, but it was not built. The P-3 went into series production for the Swiss Air Force, and the company also had its first export success with the type: an order for six P-3s by the Brazilian Navy.

In 1958, Pilatus began design work on a short takeoff and landing (STOL) light transport aircraft, which emerged as the PC-6 Porter; this aircraft first took to the air on May 4, 1959. The Porter was also manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. Approximately 100 of these licensed aircraft were completed and were mainly purchased by civilian operators in the US.

The first turbine-powered PC-6 models were equipped with the Astazou II engine, but there were complaints about the reliability of this engine. Another early turboprop engine that became available for the PC-6 was the Garrett Air Research TPE 331.Some operators, such as Air America, decided to upgrade their Astazou II-powered PC-6s, fitting the TPE 331 engine in its place.Both the piston-engine and turbine versions of the PC-6 quickly became known for their short takeoff and landing (STOL)capabilities, requiring only a very short run-up before being ready to rotate before takeoff.

In addition, a twin-engine version of the PC-6 was built in 1965 as the PC-8 Twin Porter; although the first flight took place on November 15, 1967, the aircraft remained an experimental and one-off type, and its development was halted in 1972. Another project, the PC-10, a twin-engine transport aircraft for 16 passengers, was also started by the company; however, it ultimately did not enter production.

In 1966, a turboprop-powered version of the P-3 was flown, which was designated PC-7.This aircraft was lost in a crash, causing work on this type of aircraft to be halted until the 1970s.Reportedly, the reason for the termination was the lack of market interest at the time.

Moving away from the production of trainer aircraft and Porters, the company bought the rights to the all-metal B-4 glider; Pilatus redesigned the B-4 to facilitate production and renamed it the B-4/PC-11.The first flight of the PC-11 took place on May 5, 1972, and the company built 322 units.

In 1973, a decision was made to resume work on the PC-7 program; factors contributing to its revival included the 1973 oil crisis, the launch of the competing Beechcraft T-34C Turbo-Mentor and the aging of existing trainer aircraft. In 1975, another PC-7 prototype was flown; after further development, it entered production as the PC-7 Turbo Trainer. On August 12, 1978, the first serial aircraft made its first flight; on December 5 of that year, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) issued a civil certificate for the PC-7.Over time, sales of the PC-7 generated significant profits, allowing the company to finance the development of further aircraft types.

In 1979, Pilatus acquired Britten-Norman, builder of the Britten-Norman Islander and Britten-Norman Defender aircraft; this move led to a restructuring of the company as Pilatus Britten-Norman. Shortly thereafter, manufacturing operations for the Islander/Defender family of aircraft were transferred to Bembridge. Under the leadership of the new company, new features were installed on the Islander over the years, such as the installation of silencers on both the aircraft's engine and propellers, to better facilitate operations in noise-sensitive environments.

In 1982, work began on an improved version of the PC-7, which appeared in 1984 as the Pilatus PC-9. It retained the general layout of its predecessor, but the aircraft shared very few design features with it. Among other improvements, the PC-9 has a larger cabin with stepped ejection seats, as well as a front airbrake. Certification was obtained in September 1985.

Development of what was to become the company's best-selling type, the Pilatus PC-12, began in 1987; it was a single-engine turboprop transport aircraft that could carry up to twelve passengers. In October 1989, Pilatus announced the development of the PC-12 at the annual convention of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA).

The PC-12 prototype was flown on May 31, 1991. On March 30, 1994, the Swiss Federal Aviation Administration issued a type certificate for the PC-12. The first PC-12 Eagle reconnaissance aircraft was built in 1995, and further development work led to the PC-12 Spectre; among other customers, it was adopted by the US Air Force as the U-28A. Since entering service, Pilatus has developed many improvements and options over the original PC-12; changes include increased maximum takeoff weight, the use of increasingly powerful engines, the adoption of new avionics, noise reduction measures, new propellers, increased speed and range, additional interiors and new in-flight entertainment systems.

In 1997, TSA Transairco SA of Geneva was acquired by Pilatus. In 1998, Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd was established, while Britten-Norman was sold.

To expand the family of training aircraft, the turboprop PC-21 was developed and first flown in 2002. A key goal of the PC-21 was to allow jet pilots to do most of their training with this type of aircraft before switching to jet-powered aircraft, allowing operators to save significantly. To achieve this goal, the new training aircraft had to have an expanded performance range in terms of aerodynamics, cockpit equipment, flexibility and ease of maintenance. In May 2002, Pilatus announced that it intended for the PC-21 to capture 50% of the global market for training aircraft between 2005 and 2030.

In December 2000, the owners of Unaxis (formerly called Oerlikon-Bührle) sold Pilatus to a consortium of Swiss investors. In July 2010, the company delivered its 1,000th PC-12.

In 2013, Pilatus established a new foreign entity, Pilatus Aircraft Industry (China) Co., Ltd, to manufacture the PC-6 and PC-12 aircraft in Chongqing, China; this business was run as a joint partnership between Pilatus and Beijing Tian Xing Jian Yu Science Co., Ltd. In 2014, most of the PC-6 aircraft delivered that year went to Chinese customers. By April 2016, about 20 PC-6 aircraft were in service in the Chinese market; the type was often used to replace the Antonov An-2 aircraft because it was reportedly cheaper to operate.

The PC-24 was designed based on feedback from PC-12 customers who wanted greater range and speed, but wanted to retain the PC-12's ability to use very short runways. The design program was first mentioned by Pilatus in its May 2011 annual report. May 21, 2013. The PC-24 was presented to the public at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva. At the event, Pilatus' then-president Oscar Schwenk stated that the PC-24 did not fit into any of the existing business aircraft categories, and said that the aircraft was the only one that combined the versatility of a turboprop with the cabin size of a medium light jet and the performance of a light jet. The launch of the first PC-24, the HB-VXA, took place on August 1, 2014, the Swiss national holiday; the aircraft's first flight took place on May 11, 2015.

In 2018, Pilatus' general aviation division delivered 128 aircraft: 80 PC-12s, 27 PC-21s, 3 PC-6s and 18 PC-24s, with revenue of 1.1 billion Swiss francs, while the number of orders for the year totaled $980 million, bringing the company's order book to $2.07 billion. In the same year, the company announced the closure of its order book for the PC-6 in the summer of 2018; the last of the type was completed in early 2019, and production of the part is expected to last at least 20 years.

At the end of 2019, Pilatus reported revenues of CHF 1.2 billion, which were generated mainly through the delivery of 134 aircraft: 40 PC-24s, 83 PC-12NGs and 11 PC-21s, compared to revenues of CHF 1.1 billion in 2018 from the delivery of 128 aircraft: 18 PC-24s, 80 PC-12NGs, 27 PC-21s and three PC-6s. The company's order backlog stood at $2.1 billion in May 2020.

source; WIKIPEDIA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilatus_Aircraft

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