Pilatus PC-12
| Pilatus PC-12 | |
|---|---|
 PC-12 from the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia |
|
| Type: | Multi- purpose turboprop aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
May 31, 1991 |
| Commissioning: |
1994 |
| Production time: |
In series production since 1992 |
| Number of pieces: |
1778+ |
The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop multi -purpose aircraft produced by the Swiss aircraft manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft . It combines a powerful turboprop engine with a spacious cell designed as a pressurized cabin and is suitable for a wide range of applications. 1500 copies had been delivered by June 30, 2017. As a supplement, Pilatus has been developing the PC-24 since 2008 , which is supposed to combine the properties of the PC-12 with two jet engines instead of one turboprop engine.
history
The development of the PC-12 started in 1987 with the aim of achieving the greatest possible usability even on unpaved slopes or grassy areas. After a short development phase, the first prototype flew on May 31, 1991 and type certification by the Swiss authorities took place on March 30, 1994, followed by certification by the American Federal Aviation Administration on June 15, 1994.
1994 and 1995 were already 20 aircraft are manufactured, with the delivery of serial number 129 in December 1995, the aircraft was allowed for the first time in predicted icing conditions ( english Known Icing Conditions are flown). In June 1996 the maximum take-off weight was increased from 4100 to 4500 kg (PC-12/45), which was raised again to 4700 kg on December 14, 2005 (PC-12/47). The last PC-12 or PC-12/45 and - / 47 with the serial number 864 was delivered in June 2008.
The first PC-12NG (also known as PC-12 / 47E) was manufactured in April 2008. This further development initially included the installation of a more powerful propeller turbine ( PT6A-67P ), which is particularly important when climbing and cruising and results in a higher rate of climb and higher top speed. In addition, the classic cockpit with only partially digital displays was converted to the Honeywell APEX and thus a pure glass cockpit . A second generator was installed to increase the reliability of the electrical system .
As of January 2014, other minor improvements included landing lights with LEDs and a cockpit voice recorder . In November 2011 the 1,100th PC-12 was delivered (serial number 1312), in February 2015 the 1,300th. In May of the same year, the entire PC-12 fleet reached a total of 5 million flight hours.
construction
In order to ensure safe flight operations from unpaved runways, a T-tail unit was chosen to avoid damage when loading via the built-in tail cargo flap. The main landing gear is designed dragged for this reason. In order to achieve the lowest possible approach and stall speed and still design the wings for fast cruise flight (e.g. using the sweep ), the flaps are designed to 80% of the wingspan.
A unique feature of the machine compared to other aircraft of this class is the large cargo door on the left side of the fuselage, through which bulky goods can also be loaded and which is very popular, so that such a door is also available on the twin-engine sister model PC-24 with jet engines .
The power output of the engine in the NG version currently on offer was limited to 1200 shp ( flat-rated ); Since the engine can generate 1845 shp, the loss of power during take-offs at high temperatures or high altitudes can be compensated for.
variants
It is used as a business aircraft with six comfortably equipped seats, as a combined cargo and passenger aircraft with four to eight removable seats and a cargo compartment that can accommodate, for example, the passengers' motorbikes , as a pure cargo aircraft, as a scheduled aircraft with nine seats, as a special version with specific equipment, for example used for scientific and government purposes or as an ambulance aircraft with space for two patients and three medical attendants. It has a weather radar to detect bad weather areas such as thunderstorms .
The PC-12 is currently (status: end of 2006) in the following versions:
- PC-12/41
- Basic variant, was certified in 1994 and is equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B turbine; were mostly adapted to the PC-12/45 standard
- PC-12/45
- Certification of the variant with an increased take-off weight of a maximum of 4,500 kg (1996)
- PC-12/47
- Another modified variant with an increased take-off weight of a maximum of 4,740 kg (2005)
- PC-12 / 47E (PC-12 NG)
- New turbine, new cockpit, revised winglets (2005)
- PC-12NGX
- New PT6E-67XP turbine, improved avionics including FADEC , enlarged windows and winglets, increased cruising speed of 537 km / h (2019)
In addition, the following military designations exist as derivatives of the above versions:
- PC-12M «Specter»
- This variant for paramilitary special operations is mainly marketed in the USA under the name "Eagle".
- U-28A "Draco"
- This variant for special operations of the Air Force Special Operations Command is operated by the US Air Force and is stationed in Florida at the Hurlburt Field military airfield .
Users
Civil
-
Australia : 32 Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia , first customer -
Netherlands : ASL Private Jet Services private charter and ambulance flights -
Russia : 18 Dexter Air Taxi Charter / Airline -
Switzerland : 1 Federal Office for Civil Aviation
-
South Africa : 8 Comair Flight Services Charter -
United States : 9 Air Bravo ambulance flights and charters -
United States : 3 + 65 Ordered Surf Air Charter
-
United States : 30 PlaneSense Private Charter
-
Canada : 1 Harbor Air charter airline
Military
-
Afghanistan : 23 for the Afghan National Army (including 5 SIGINT versions) -
Bulgaria : 1 for VIP transports -
Finland : 6 PC-12NG -
South Africa : 1 for VIP transports
-
United States
- The US Air Force uses at least 28 PC-12 / 47s as U-28A for operations with the Army Green Berets and the US Navy Seals with the 5th, 34th, 318th and 319th Special Operations Squadron of the Air Force Special Operations Command . Another three have been ordered.
-
Switzerland : 1 for transport and test / calibration flights
-
Ireland : 3 PC-12NG “Specter” (2 as of 2019, 1 in 2020)
Extraditions
In 2013, 65 copies of the PC-12 were delivered and in 2014 a total of 66 copies.
Incidents
From 1998 to November 2018, the Aviation Network Safety WikiBase recorded 19 total write-offs of PC-12 machines. 56 people died in 14 of them. In a further 5 accidents, the aircraft was not destroyed, but there were 26 deaths.
- On March 22, 2009, a PC-12 crashed while approaching the unscheduled airport in Butte ( Montana , USA). All 14 inmates, including seven children, died. The NTSB believes that ice formation in the fuel system led to the accident.
- On October 16, 2009, a PC-12 crashed in front of an agricultural property in Weert, the Netherlands, and immediately went up in flames. The machine was on the flight from Kempen in the Netherlands to Frankfurt a. M. Both inmates were killed. The investigation continues.
- On May 25, 2011, a Pilatus PC-12 (Reg .: VT-ACF) air ambulance crashed into a house in the city of Faridabad, near Delhi. All seven occupants of the machine and three residents of the house were killed. Another four suffered injuries.
- On the evening of February 18, 2012, a U-28A crashed on a flight for the 319th Special Operations Squadron near the US base Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti . All four inmates were killed. Spatial disorientation is stated as the cause of the accident.
- On June 8, 2012, a PC-12/47 crashed in Florida, killing all six inmates. The plane was on its way back to Kansas from the Bahamas and had stopped at Fort Pierce, Florida shortly before the crash. According to the NTSB, the last recorded altitude was approximately 25,000 feet. It has not yet been conclusively clarified whether the machine was brought down by a thunderstorm.
- On August 24, 2012, a PC-12 crashed into a forest on the flight from Antwerp to Saanen in the French Jura near Solemont. All four inmates were killed. After the pilot lost control of the aircraft under icing conditions, the right wing failed to structure. In the absence of a flight data recorder, the exact cause of the loss of control could not be determined.
- Shortly after taking off from Chamberlain Airport in the US state of South Dakota , a PC-12 crashed on November 30, 2019 in poor weather conditions. Nine people, including the pilot, were killed and three others were injured.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data from the Pilatus PC-12 / 47E |
|---|---|
| Type | single-engine multipurpose aircraft with pressurized cabin |
| crew | 1-2 |
| Passengers | up to 9 |
| length | 14.40 m |
| span | 16.28 m |
| height | 4.26 m |
| cabin |
|
| Wing area | 25.81 m² |
| Empty mass | 2974 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 4740 kg |
| Max. Cruising speed | 519 km / h |
| mean rate of climb | 9.75 m / s |
| Service ceiling | 9144 m |
| Range | 2889 km |
| Engines | a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B propeller turbine with 895 kW (1200 shp) |
| Price: | approx. 4 to 4.9 million USD (list price, as of 2015) |
See also
literature
- Christian Müller: Pilatus PC-12: Successful on all continents. Cossani Publishing, Zug / Switzerland 1999
- Christian Müller: The Pilatus PC-12: a winner the world over. Cossani Publishing, Zug / Switzerland 1999
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Pilatus livre le 1'500ème PC-12!
- ↑ a b c d History Of The Pilatus PC12. In: acftservices. Retrieved June 24, 2019 .
- ^ A b c J. Mac McClellan: Pilatus PC-12: The Value of Only One Engine. In: flyingmag. August 10, 2010, accessed February 22, 2018 .
- ^ Pilatus Aircraft: Pilatus Reveals the PC-12 NGX
- ^ Lynette Rolen: AFSOC welcomes "Draco" to the fleet. In: Air Force Special Operations Command. June 19, 2019, accessed June 24, 2019 .
- ↑ http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104607/u-28a.aspx
- ↑ Swiss Guardian Angels in Australia , NZZ, March 25, 2017 (print edition)
- ↑ http://www.asl.be/en
- ↑ The federal government buys a Pilatus aircraft ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , luzernerzeitung.ch
- ↑ HB-FWA in the aircraft register
- ↑ http://www.flycfs.co.za/
- ↑ http://airbravocorp.com/index.php
- ↑ https://www.surfair.com/about-us.html
- ↑ http://www.planesense.com/
- ↑ http://www.harbourair.com/the-experience/fleet/
- ↑ Jane's Information Group : Afghan special forces to receive PC-12 SIGINT aircraft ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed March 23, 2015
- ↑ Bulgarian military aviation Orbat
- ↑ Pilatus press release ( Memento of the original from September 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ South African military aviation OrBat ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ US Air Force military aviation OrBat ( Memento of the original from December 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ HB-FOG in Swiss Air Force Military identifiers ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ PC-12 HB-FOG on Air VBS
- ↑ L'Irish Air Corps opte pour le Pilatus PC-12NG «Specter»
- ^ Kate Sarsfield: Pilatus posts record profits. In: Flightglobal.com. April 10, 2015, accessed on April 13, 2015 (English): "The Stans-based airframer recorded revenues of Swfr 1.174 billion ($ 1.2 billion) between January and December 2014, 16% higher than in 2013 - its previous record year. Earnings climbed by 30% during the same period to over Swfr 200 million. "
- ↑ List of accidents with the Pilatus PC-12 , Aviation Safety Network WikiBase , accessed on November 13, 2018.
- ^ Report on the crash on March 22, 2009 on Spiegel-Online
- ↑ Aircraft Accident Report: Loss of Control While Maneuvering, Pilatus PC-12/45, N128CM. National Transport Safety Board as of March 2009.
- ↑ Identiteit twee doden neergestort vfluguigje Weert bekend - report in the Dutch L1 TV ( memento from October 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Ten dead in plane crash in New Delhi
- ↑ 9-seater plane crashes in Faridabad residential colony; 10 killed
- ↑ Spatial disorientation led to Djibouti crash, Air Force says. In: Stars and Stripes. October 24, 2012, accessed August 12, 2017 .
- ↑ Bethany Whitfield: Pilatus PC-12 Crashes in Florida, Killing Six. In: Flying Magazine. June 8, 2012, accessed August 29, 2012 .
- ↑ Final report of the BEA : BEA hb-z120824 Accident, Solemont, le 24 août 2012, PILATUS - PC12, HB-FPZ , accessed on August 12, 2017
- ↑ Well-known entrepreneurial family dies in a crash. L'essentiel , December 1, 2019, accessed on the same day.
- ↑ Nine dead in plane crash. FAZ.net , December 1, 2019, accessed on the same day.
- ↑ Information according to the data sheet ( Memento of the original dated August 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 589 kB)
- ↑ Pilatus brings PC-12 NG with increased performance data. May 18, 2015, accessed July 2, 2017 .
