Indian Defence Review

Pilatus

The first Indian Air Force Basic Training course using the Pilatus PC-7 MkII aircraft, which commenced on 1st July 2013 with more than 80 students is not only well on schedule, but has also received great performance ratings from trainees and instructors alike.

Within fifteen months of contract signing, the record on-time deliveries of aircraft and logistic support material by Pilatus has enabled the Indian Air Force to complete induction of eighteen aircraft as per the agreement. Further, a steady stream of additional aircraft is being added on a monthly basis and under the accelerated delivery schedule all 75 basic trainer aircraft are expected to be handed over to the Indian Air Force by mid-2015.

The induction of the new Basic Trainer Aircraft into the Indian Air Force inventory proceeded smoothly and due to Pilatus’ unwavering commitment to match the performance of PC-7 MkII with timely deliveries, the first training course on the new aircraft is actually ahead of schedule. By the end of August, the fleet has already logged 3000 flight hours with almost 5600 landings. Despite the challenges of adverse weather conditions due to the onslaught of monsoons, the first solo flights were successfully completed within the initial three weeks of flight training. Summarising the first two months of training, the instructors and flight cadets at the Air Force Academy at Dundigal expressed immense satisfaction with the excellent, highly conducive teaching environment afforded by the new Pilatus PC-7 MkII trainer, which dramatically boosted the quality of instruction.

Pilatus is confident that the tried and tested PC-7 MkII aircraft with its modern systems and avionics will prove to be the ideal platform to train the young Indian Air Force aircrews for their challenging tasks in the future. Pilatus Training Systems (PC-7 MkII, PC-9 M and PC-21) are currently in successful operation with over 30 of the most renowned air forces around the globe.