Pilatus P-4
| Pilatus P-4 | |
|---|---|
 Model Pilatus P-4 |
|
| Type: | STOL multipurpose aircraft |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 22, 1948 |
| Number of pieces: |
1 |
The Pilatus P-4 was a development project by the Swiss company Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG .
history
The P-4 was not specifically designed as a passenger aircraft, but as a work aircraft with various uses. The aim was to develop an aircraft with a robust design, which had good-natured flight characteristics in slow flight, could take off and land on short runways and was undemanding in maintenance. On March 22, 1948, the P-4 with the aircraft registration HB-AET took off for its first flight. However, capacity bottlenecks prevented series production at this time.
The P-4 attracted attention at the 18th Paris Aviation Salon in 1949, where it was shown to a wide international audience. It was planned to equip the P-4 with floats or a combined wheel / ski undercarriage. Operations in agricultural aviation were also planned .
On October 13, 1957, the P-4 crashed during an air-rescue exercise in the Susten area and suffered a total write-off. Until then, the P-4 had always been owned by Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG.
Series production did not come about due to the fact that the Pilatus factories were busy with P-2 production. However, if you compare the P-4 with the PC-6, which was constructed eleven years later, you can see that the P-4 represents a preliminary stage to the sophisticated end product Pilatus PC-6 Porter .
Web links
- External images: Pilatus P-4 ; Pilatus P-4 Side ; Pilatus P-4 Air ; Pilatus P-4 ; Pilatus P-4 in flight
- Pilatus Aircraft: Projects
