Pilatus Aircraft said goodbye to the final Pilatus Porter PC-6 as it set out for delivery on Monday. The multi-role aircraft has been in production since 1959 and production ended in 2019. The last PC-6 was delivered to an Indonesian customer on Dec. 12.
Pilatus announced in 2017 that production of the aircraft would end in early 2019. Support will still be given to existing customers for 20 years to ensure the PC-6 experience remains reliable. Since 1959, there have been 500 PC-6s made and fewer than 100 additional aircraft were produced in the USA under license.
The aircraft is known for its achievements, like when one Pilatus Porter flew several cargo and passenger trips at a maximum useful load to an altitude of 5700 meters above sea level, setting a world record that has yet to be beaten. The plane is known for its short takeoff and landing capabilities, and for being an “all-rounder” plane.
Pilatus Aircraft was founded in 1939 and is the only Swiss company to develop, produce and sell aircraft around the world. The company began working on repairs for the Swiss Air Force and moved on to designing aircraft in the 1940s. The company began designs for the short takeoff and landing light civil transport aircraft, the PC-6 Porter.
Photo by: Pilatus Aircraft Ltd – www.pilatus-aircraft.com
History of the PC-6
The PC-6 aircraft flew for the first time on May 4, 1959. The plane was also manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States, with roughly 100 completed and mostly purchased by civil operators within the US.
In May 1961, the first Turbo Porter, powered by a Turbomeca Astazou II turboprop engine, performed its first flight. This version had an increase in gross capacity and top speed and benefitted from the turboprop engine’s automatic handling functions, but had a higher fuel consumption.
Both versions of this plane quickly became well-known for their STOL capabilities. While the initial turbine-powered models were equipped with the Astazou II powerplant, many opted to switch to the Garrett Air Research TPE 331 due to reliability complaints. In May of 1996, a PC-6 was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engine for the first time and had its initial flight.
Photo by: Pilatus Aircraft Ltd
In the 1960s and 1970s, the CIA airline Air America operated up to 23 PC-6s at a time. Many of these were operational in the South-East Asia region during the Vietnam War. These planes were used for missions including paradropping supplies, psy ops, reconnaissance, passenger transport, prisoner conveyance and airborne radio relay.
The Austrian Air Force has operated a fleet of 12 PC-6 Porters since 1976. These planes have been used for roles in transport, search and rescue, firefighting, target-towing, paradropping and observation.
In 1993, nearly 440 of the 500 PC-6 Turbo Porters that had been completed were still in service.
Production of the plane was moved to offset rising labor and manufacturing costs in Switzerland. In 1993, Czech Republic-based Letov Kbely began manufacturing activity. In 2013, Pilatus formed a joint venture with Beijing Tian Xing Jian Yu Science Co., to manufacture the plane and the PC-12 in Chongqing, China. Initially, subassembly work was done on the fuselage, later on, other elements like wings and moving surfaces, which had been initially sent to the final assembly facility in Switzerland. On Dec. 11, 2014, the first Chinese-assembled PC-6 fuselage was completed.
After almost 600 deliveries in 60 years, including nearly 90 Fairchild-Hiller built and 425 PT6-powered, Pilatus chose to close the order book. Before the decision, only 52 of the planes had been delivered in the last decade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XjcUI-hY84
The last delivery of this iconic STOL plane marks the end of an era. Noted for its long service life, the PC-6 will be around for a long time after this final delivery.
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