Pilatus PC-6 Porter & Turbo Porter
The Pilatus PC-6 Porter is a single-engined Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) utility aircraft designed by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. First flown in 1959, the PC-6 has been built in both piston engine and turboprop powered versions, and has been built both by Pilatus and by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. It remains in production as of August 2011.
Design and development
The first prototype made its maiden flight on 4 May 1959 powered by a 254 kW piston engine. The first Turbo Porter, powered by a turboprop, flew in 1961. The Turbo Porter received an engine upgrade in 1963, which increased its power to its present value of 410 kW.
In the United States, the Porter was manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller. In service with the U.S. Air Force, it received the designation AU-23A Peacemaker. In U.S. Army use, it was designated UV-20 Chiricahua.
Operational history
The PC-6 is famous in the aviation world for its Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) performance on almost any type of terrain - it can take-off within a distance of 195 metres (640 ft) and land within a distance of 130 metres (427 ft) while carrying a payload of 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) (The length of a soccer field is enough, Pilatus test pilots were able to land on not much more than 50 metres (164 ft) of space). Thanks to its STOL performance, the PC-6 holds the world record for highest landing by a fixed wing aircraft, at 5,750 metres (18,865 ft), on the Dhaulagiri glacier in Nepal.
Variants
- PC-6 Porter.
- PC-6B Turbo-Porter.
- AU-23A Peacemaker: Armed version for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.
- UV-20 Chiricahua: U.S. Army version.
- PC-8 Twin Porter: Twin-engined version flown in 1967, but not subsequently developed.
— — — = = — — —