Felipe VI sets the operating elements of PC-21, the coach plane in which Princess Leonor will fly the following year

During his visit to the AIR 25 Festival, which will be held this weekend at the San Javier Air Base (Murcia), Felipe VI raised the Carlinga for the first time Of this turbo a plane that serves as an advanced coach in the air and space army.

The king left the Murcian Military Airfield at about 17:18 under intense heat and Surrounded by thousands of attendees who visit the static aircraft exhibition, some of foreign Air Force such as the French or the British.

The flight of His Majesty is composed Two planes that have flown in formation. With Felipe VI, the sharing of Carlinga, commander Guzmán has been.

This is the same aircraft model in which The princess of Asturia will carry out the air instruction As part of his military training, which is currently doing it at the Navy, his instruction begins in September.

The PC-21 is the leader of the General Air Academy after the gradual withdrawal of the latest C-101 units. In fact, the main axis of the Murcia Aerial Exhibition has on honor C-101The old school plane, which will also place the Eagle Patrol.

The aircraft of the Swiss manufacturer Pilatus aircraft had its first operational prototype in 1997, but it was only in July 2002 when the first test flight was made. The Air Force and the Spanish space began to receive orders in September 2021 and the last episode took place in June, until he reached 24 units. The total costs of the contract for the Ministry of Defense reach the 205 million euros.

It’s about it A aircraft More modern in your class And given its unique characteristics, it is used for the training of pilots in countries such as Switzerland, the first to integrate it into his Air Force, in addition to Australia, including the United Kingdom and Arab Emirates. In total, more than 200 units were built.

One of the characteristic characteristics is that makes the full training of the pilots possible at much lower costs To a conventional reaction surface, such as C-101 itself, up to 50% less per pilot.

It is something that goes beyond the fuel that consumes, considerably less than the C-101, and is related to the construction of the engine Turboprop. Because it is a propeller plane driven by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A turbine, maintenance is also much easier and more economically.

It has one length of 11.2 meters and one wingspan of 9.1 meters And has enough room for the two crew members, student and flight instructor. The empty weight exceeds the 2 tons for little, while the maximum Can reach when taking off 4,250 kilograms, which are reduced to 3,100 in ‘acrobatic’ mode.

The engine, which is also used in comparable training aircraft such as the EMP-314 Super Tucano EMP-314, develops 1,600 hp, which can make Pilatus PC-21 Maximum speed of 685 kilometers per hour And a flight autonomy of 1,333 kilometers. The escape roof is at 11,580 meters, slightly lower than the C-101.

Latest technologies

In addition to the lower operational and maintenance costs, the actual reason for purchasing these planes is by the Air and Space Army that that is that Contains the latest technologiesnecessary to instruct the pilots in the treatment of the fifth generation and other planes, such as The Airbus A400M Loads or NH90 -Helikopters, fully digitized.

For example, the Pilate allows the Integrated education system (STD), from the same Swiss manufacturer, with which students and teachers can interact with updated equipment and material. And together with these new units, new training stations on the land have reached the San Javier Air BaseWith which the students of the General Air Academy will be familiar with the most modern aircraft systems.

The Murcia basis where the pilots are trained has received an output training system, in which the students are instructed about placing the belts and can come out of the cabin in an emergency. Moreover, they have 5 simulators and they plan the integration of two more units.

The new Pilatus PC-21 will be like that Integrated part for the next 30 years of the basic flight schoolWhose goal is the selection of students for fundamental specialties (hunting and attacks, transport, helicopters and RPAs).

On the other hand, the C-101 will gradually decrease until the stock in 28 units. These will be exclusively managed by the Eagle Patrol, who will continue to use these experienced planes in their exhibitions until 2030.