Air International 1985-11
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J.Fricker - Paramount Preceptor
The second of two Pilatus PC-9 turboprop trainers that are currently in use for flight test and development.
Smartly finished in black and gold trim for its first flight, the first PC-9 was later repainted in colours closely approximating those of RAF training aircraft, when the Pilatus aircraft was one of the two finalists for the AST-412 requirement.
The two PC-9s are seen together
View of the first PC-9, HB-HPA, show it in the RAF-style white-and-red finish
First flown at Stans on 7 May 1984, the PC-9 revealed its similarity with the PC-7, from which it was directly developed to offer increased performance and improved cockpit arrangement.
View of the first PC-9, HB-HPA, show it as first flown - two days before the formal roll-out ceremony at Stans on 9 May 1984.
The second of the two pre-production PC-9s flew for the first time on 20 July 1984 and shows no external differences from the first aircraft.
The rear (left) and front (right) cockpits of the first pre-series Pilatus PC-9, HB-HPA, are shown here. This aircraft has the conventional electro-mechanical installation, and is also being used to flight-test the JET Electronics S-900 head-up display, which can he seen in the photograph of the front cockpit.
The front cockpit of the second PC-9 has a Collins EFIS, displaying all flight and navigation information on the two central CRTs.
Pilatus PC-9