Sun, Nov 28, 2010
Pilatus Delivers Military Trainer One Year After Signing The
Contract
The initial flight of the first Pilatus PC-21 for the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force & Air Defence took place Monday,
one year to the day after the contract was signed.
Pilatus PC-21
Prior to first flight, the aircraft was rolled out and presented
to the UAE Air Force & Air Defence by Oscar Schwenk, Chairman
& CEO of Pilatus Aircraft Limited, in a ceremony attended by
members of the Pilatus executive management and project teams from
both parties.
After the roll-out, the aircraft's first flight was a ferry
flight to the Buochs airfield. Pilatus' chief test pilot departed
at 1034 local time on a flight which served as the final check for
quality control and conformity. After engine checks on the runway,
aircraft was taken to 10,000 feet, where an engine shut down and
restart sequence is performed to prove the functionality of the
engine related systems. Next, various mechanical systems are
checked, including flight controls systems, airframe stall
characteristics, engine performance and inverted flight. Finally
the landing gear functionality was tested, the data was examined,
and the aircraft prepped for the remaining production flight
test.
Pilatus PC-21 Cockpit
A post flight debriefing was undertaken with the UAE Air Force
& Air Defence, represented by Brigadier General Sami Saeed Al
Nuaimi, and this formally closes this element of the project.
Delivery of the 25 PC-21 aircraft and the other key components
of the Pilatus training system are scheduled to commence in the
first quarter
2011.
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