| A23 Pilatus (Switzerland) PC-9/A On December 16 1985, the decision was announced to discontinue the Australian Aircraft Consortium (AAC) A10 Wamira, and select instead the Swiss Pilatus PC-9. Some 69 of these advanced trainers would be ordered, but this was reduced to 67 on July 10 1986, when the contract was signed. The Swiss had proposed that if the RAAF bought the PC-9, Australia would secure 80 percent of the work on the other 81 approved aircraft in the PC-9 production run. This work would primarily be with Hawker de Havilland (HdH), the prime contractor, which had been the driving force of the AAC in the Wamira project. In April 1986, the RAAF decided the A23 prefix allocated to the Wamira would be retained for the PC-9. Also, it was decided to retain the Wamira's conspicuous orange and white paint scheme which had been planned by AAC with advice from DSTO's Materials Research Laboratory. The first PC-9 had been officially rolled out at Stans, Switzerland on May 9 1984, having flown two days earlier, and was registered HB-HPA (constructors number 001). It was followed by a second pre-production PC-9, HB-HPB (c/n 002), which flew on July 20. The RAAF became the first customer to specify the advanced Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) "glass" cockpit. The first RAAF aircraft, A23-001 (c/n 501), flew on May 19 1987, followed in June by A23-002 (c/n 502). A23-001 was displayed at the 1987 Paris Air Show in June. To enable Swiss civilian pilots to ferry these aircraft to Australia, they were marked as HB-HQA and HB-HQB. The two PC-9's departed Stans for the 12,576 mile ferry flight, and arrived at Bankstown on October 16 1987. These aircraft were then accepted by the RAAF in November. They were to have been delivered in July but had been delayed by four months with an electronic fault. Radio transmissions were affecting the fuel flow sensors, shutting down the engine. The sensors were further shielded to overcome the problem. The remaining 65 aircraft, A23-003 to A23-067 (c/n 503 to 567) were then licence built by HdH and designated PC-9/A. Pilatus supplied kits for the first six and major components for the following 11, but from aircraft A23-20, all major components were Australian built. Aerospace Technologies of Australia (ASTA, renamed from GAF in 1987) produced the fuselage and the tailplane, and HdH of Victoria (ex-CAC) built the wings. The Dunlop Aerospace Company was sub-contracted to make the undercarriage, and final assembly and flight testing was done at HdH at Bankstown. Only the engine and the electronics were then imported. The first Australian assembled PC-9/A, A23-003, flew on November 14 1987, was accepted by the RAAF on December 9 and officially handed over to the Minister of Defence on December 14. Initial deliveries were the two Swiss-built aircraft to Central Flying School on November 24 1987, to enable instructor training and flying syllabus development. The RAAF training program had been reassessed to retain the CT-4 in the ab-initio role, and replace the Macchi with the PC-9. Macchi training would then only continue for those students streamed to fighter/strike flying. ARDU also operated two of the early aircraft to certify their entry into RAAF service. When A23-006 was rolled out of the HdH factory on May 21 1988, it was painted in the personal blue colour scheme of the Chief of Air Staff. This aircraft was accepted by the RAAF on June 27 and participated in the around Australia air race in September, as part of the Richmond Bicentennial Air Show. Deliveries began in 1989 to 2FTS at RAAF Pearce, and late that year the first student pilots commenced PC-9 flying. This enabled the withdrawal of the Macchi from 2FTS in 1991, but this type remained in service at Pearce with 25 SQN. Subsequent Macchi fatigue problems saw the PC-9s of 2FTS being borrowed by 25 SQN. During 1990 the Roulettes at CFS converted to the PC-9. Their distinctive all-red aircraft are now a common sight at Australian air shows, and they were introduced internationally at the Singapore Air Show in February 1992. The final RAAF PC-9/A, A23-067, was accepted by the RAAF in March 1992. The PC-9 now serves in the air forces of Saudi Arabia and Burma, and the German Luftwaffe use the PC-9B for target towing. The Pilatus P/C-9 is currently in service with the following units: 2 Flying Training School, RAAF ??? Central Flying School, RAAF East Sale, 77 Squadron, RAAF Williamtown. TECHNICAL DATA (Pilatus PC-9/A) DESCRIPTION Two-seat advanced trainer. POWER PLANT One 950shp Pratt and Whitney PT6A turboprop. DIMENSIONS Wing Span 33ft 2in(10.12m); length 33ft 4in(10.18m); height 10ft 8in(3.26m). WEIGHTS Empty 3571lb (1620kg); max 7077lb (3210kg). PERFORMANCE Max speed 320 knots (593 km/h); cruising speed 270 knots (500 km/h); rate of climb 4000ft (1220m) per min; service ceiling 38,000 ft (11,580 m); range (at 20,000 ft) 920 NM (1700 km). |