Pilatus Flugzeugwerke: Швейцариядағы ұшақтар тарихы мен дамуы

Aircraft manufacturer located in Switzerland

The company has mostly produced aircraft for niche markets, in particular short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft as well as military training aircraft. During the 1950s and 1960s, Pilatus developed a short takeoff and landing (STOL) light civil transport aircraft, the PC 6 Porter. In 1973, it was decided to restart work on a turbine version of the piston engine trainer P 3, which entered production as the PC 7 Turbo Trainer. In 1979, Pilatus acquired Britten Norman, manufacturer of the Britten Norman Islander and Britten Norman Defender aircraft. During the 1980s, it developed the PC 9, an improved derivative of the PC 7. During the 1990s, Pilatus opened up a broader civilian market with the introduction of the PC 12, a single engine turboprop aircraft and has delivered 1,800 as of April 2021. In the 2000s, it also introduced a new member family of its military training aircraft, the turboprop powered PC 21. During the 2010s, the company developed the PC 24, a twin engined STOL jet aircraft capable of operating from unpaved runways.

In August 1938 Vickers offered Spitfire aircraft to the Swiss Kriegstechnische Abteilung (KTA). Antoine Gazda, working as a sales manager for the Werkzeugmaschinenfabrik Oerlikon, negotiated a licence agreement with Vickers and offered swiss built Spitfires to the Flugwaffe. On October 21, 1938, a society named «Studiengesellschaft zur Gründung einer Flugzeugfabrik AG» was founded and designated the future company to be located at Stans. However the authorities deciced to buy complete aircraft from Messerschmitt in Germany. Without the now obsolete «Studiengesellschaft», Emil Bührle and Gazda continued on the project and founded the Pilatus Flugzeugwerke AG with the help of Elektrobank on 16. Dezember 1939. Construction of a production building started in March 1940. After forming, the company obtained contracts to do maintenance and repairs for the Swiss Air Force. The first venture of the new company was the assembly of EKW C 35 reconnaissance biplanes from spare parts, along with overhaul work on other types. on the two drawings that were discovered in the federal archives. The next project was the detail construction of the SB 2 Pelican which had been designed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. The five seat experimental aircraft first flew on 30 May 1944 and only one of the type was built resulting in a financial loss for the company that was higher than what it was ever paid for. In 1942, the company won a contract from the Swiss military to modify 33 EKW C 3603. The Porter was also manufactured under license by Fairchild Hiller in the United States. Roughly 100 of these licence produced aircraft would be completed, being mainly purchased by civil operators within the US.

The initial turbine powered models of the PC 6 were equipped with the Astazou II powerplant, however complaints of the reliability of this engine were made. Another early turboprop powerplant that became available for the PC 6 was the Garrett Air Research TPE 331. Some operators such as Air America chose to retrofit their Astazou II powered PC 6s with the TPE 331 engine in its place. Both the piston and turbine engine versions of the PC 6 became quickly known for their Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) capabilities, requiring only a very short takeoff run before being ready for rotation prior to taking off. Furthermore, during 1965, a twin engined variant of the PC 6 was built as the PC 8 Twin Porter, although it first flew on 15 November 1967, the aircraft remained an experimental and one off type, and development was stopped in 1972. The termination of work was reportedly driven by a lack of market interest at that time.

In a departure from the production of trainers and Porters, the company bought the rights to the all metal B 4 glider; Pilatus re designed the B 4 for easier production and redesignated at the B 4/PC 11. In 1979, Pilatus acquired Britten Norman, constructor of the Britten Norman Islander and Britten Norman Defender aircraft; Under the new company's direction, new features were installed upon the Islander over the years, such as the fitting of silencers upon both the aircraft's engine and propellers to better facilitate operations in noise sensitive environments.

During 1982, development of an improved variant of the PC 7 was started, it emerged as the Pilatus PC 9 in 1984.

The prototype PC 12 was flown on 31 May 1991. The first PC 12 Eagle surveillance aircraft was built in 1995, further developments led to the PC 12 Spectre; amongst other customers, it was adopted by the United States Air Force as the U 28A. Since entering service, Pilatus developed a large number of improvements and options upon the original PC 12 model; changes include increases in the maximum takeoff weight, the use of increasingly powerful engines, the adoption of new avionics, noise reduction measures, new propellers, speed and range increases, additional interiors and new inflight entertainment systems. During 1997, TSA Transairco SA of Geneva was acquired by Pilatus. In 1998, Pilatus Australia Pty Ltd was established, while Britten Norman was sold.

To further its family of military training aircraft, the turboprop PC 21 was developed and first flown in 2002. In May 2002, Pilatus announced that it aimed for the PC 21 to capture 50% of the global trainer aircraft market between 2005 and 2030. In December 2000, the owners Unaxis (previously called Oerlikon Bührle) sold Pilatus to a consortium of Swiss investors. During July 2010, the company delivered its 1,000 PC 12. In 2014, the majority of PC 6s delivered that year were to Chinese customers. By April 2016, around 20 PC 6s were in operation in the Chinese market; the type has often been used to replace the Antonov An 2, being reportedly cheaper to operate. The PC 24 was designed based on feedback from PC 12 customers, who desired increased range and speed, but wanted to retain the PC 12's ability to use very short runways. The design program was first mentioned by Pilatus in its May 2011 annual report. On 21 May 2013, the PC 24 was introduced to the public at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva. At the event, the then Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk claimed the PC 24 did not fit into any existing business jet categories, and stated that the aircraft was the only one that combined " the versatility of a turboprop with the cabin size of a medium light jet, and the performance of a light jet". The rollout of the first PC 24, HB VXA, was on 1 August 2014, Switzerland's national day; the aircraft's first flight was on 11 May 2015. During 2018, Pilatus' general aviation division delivered 128 aircraft: 80 PC 12s, 27 PC 21s, 3 PC 6s and 18 PC 24s and its revenue was 1.1 billion Swiss francs (SFr.) ($1.0 billion) while order intake for the year was $980 million, boosting the company’s backlog to $2.07 billion. At the end of 2019, Pilatus recorded revenues of Sfr1.2 billion, which was principally generated via the delivery of 134 aircraft: 40 PC 24s, 83 PC 12NGs, and 11 PC 21s. This compared with revenues of SFr1.1 billion in 2018 on deliveries of 128 aircraft: 18 PC 24s, 80 PC 12NGs, 27 PC 21s and three PC 6s. As of May 2020,the company's backlog stood at $2.1 billion. Besides its day to day role as an aircraft factory, the Stans plant is perhaps best known for its use as a location for the film Goldfinger, particularly the exterior shots in which James Bond crashes his DB5 and is captured. Besides its Stans plant, the Pilatus Group has operations in Adelaide, South Australia and in Broomfield, Colorado.