The final Pilatus Turbo Porter

Many of the younger generation of our readers may not even have been born when the prototype of the Pilatus PC-6 Porter, HB-FAS, made its first flight on 4 May 1959.

The early models of the PC-6 were powered by a 254 kW (340 shp) piston engine. Two years later the first Turbo Porter, powered by a Turbomeca Astazou II turboprop engine, performed its initial flight.

Both models soon became famous for their Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capabilities. Complaints about the reliability of the Astazou II led to the introduction of the Garrett Air Research TPE 331 and later the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engine as alternative powerplant.

Examples of the Pilatus machine have been sold to all corners of the world, used by civilian operators and military alike. The Porter was also manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. Roughly 100 of these license-produced aircraft would be completed, being mainly purchased by civil operators within the US. A number of Fairchild Hiller-built PC-6s were also procured for military operations during the Vietnam War. It received the designation AU-23A Peacemaker for service with the USAF.

Now, after the production of more than 600 (Turbo) Porters, the last PC-6 is being prepared for delivery. The machine is HB-FBE (MSN 1019) which had its first engine run at Stans, Switzerland, on 16 August 2022. On completion it will be delivered to Smart Aviation in Indonesia as PK-SNF.

Photo by Stephan Widmer