PC-21 Fleet Achieves 500,000 Flight Hours in Safety 

The global fleet of just under 250 PC-21 training aircraft recently set a historic milestone with a total of over 500,000 successful hours in the air. Experience with current PC-21 customers shows that the state-of-the-art Pilatus training system can help reduce the cost of training future pilots by over 50 percent.

Pilatus is proud that the worldwide fleet of exceptionally efficient and advanced PC-21 training aircraft has logged 500,000 hours in the air, the Swiss airframe maker said.

Ioannis Papachristofilou, recently appointed VP Government Aviation at Pilatus, said: “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.”

An integrated and proven training system 

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 – an essential element in ground-based training.

Worldwide, the current fleet comprises almost 250 PC-21s. Customers include some of the world’s leading air forces from Europe, Australasia (Republic of Singapore Air Force, Royal Australian Air Force)  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. –adj/iz/mgm (Pic: Pilatus)