Pilatus PC-21: 500,000 Flight Hours Milestone

Just under 250 Pilatus PC-21 training aircraft recently set a historic milestone with a total of over 500,000 successful hours in the air.

Ioannis Papachristofilou, recently appointed VP Government Aviation at Pilatus, emphasizes: “The PC-21 provides air forces with a highly efficient platform for military pilot training. Featuring state-of-the-art equipment and smart avionics, the training aircraft delivers a high level of performance. With the PC-21, training hours can be flown with substantially less fuel, making it an exceptionally cost-effective, sustainable and intelligent training platform.”

In addition to the actual aircraft, the integrated PC-21 training system includes mission planning and debriefing systems, training materials, virtual reality tools and a flight simulator.

The current fleet comprises almost 250 PC-21s. Customers include air forces from Europe, Australasia and the Middle East. The Spanish Air Force also trains with the PC-21. With the purchase of 16 additional PC-21s and associated simulators in March 2023, the Spanish Air force is now the largest PC-21 operator in Europe. The Swiss Air Force has successfully used the PC-21 to train its future military pilots since 2008.