Pilatus PC-7

what is it?

The Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer is a low-wing tandem-seat training aircraft, designed and manufactured in Switzerland by Pilatus Aircraft. The aircraft is capable of all basic training functions, including aerobatics, instrument, tactical, and night flying. The PC-7 was developed from the preceding piston-powered Pilatus P-3, largely differing by the adoption of a turboprop engine, a bubble canopy, and a new one-piece wing.

🔎How to recognise it: 1 turboprop · 10.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 412 km/htop speed
• range 1,200 kmwithout refuelling
• size 2,700 kgmax take-off weight
• built 618made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 60 years ago, in 1966.
• 🏎️Top speed is 3.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10.4 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,200 km: 7× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

turboprop: A jet-style turbine turning a propeller: efficient on short hops.

spec sheet

first flight

1966-04-12

introduced

1978

status

still flying

number built

618

role

trainer aircraft

origin

🇨🇭 Switzerland

makers

Pilatus Aircraft

engines

1× Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25A / PT6A-25A / PT6A-25C

length

9.8 m

wingspan

10.4 m

height

3.2 m

max take-off weight

2,700 kg

top speed

412 km/h

cruise speed

316 km/h

range

1,200 km

ceiling

10,060 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family