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Pilatus Aircraft Delivers Last PC-6 Porter
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Pilatus marked the end of a 63-year production run for the PC-6 Porter on Dec. 12, 2022, with the last delivery of the venerable turboprop single.
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Pilatus Aircraft yesterday delivered the last PC-6 Porter, marking the end of a 63-year production run for the rugged, unpressurized turboprop single. The capstone aircraft—S/N 1019, registered as FB-FBE—was handed over to air charter operator Smart Aviation of Jakarta, Indonesia.
Stans, Switzerland-based Pilatus announced in 2017 that it planned to cease PC-6 production in 2019, but the pandemic and other delays stretched that to this year. At the time, the aircraft manufacturer said it was dropping the PC-6 line to focus more of its attention on the PC-24 twinjet.
According to Pilatus, 604 of the multi-role Pilatus Porters were produced since 1959, with more than 500 made at the manufacturer’s Stans headquarters and 100 manufactured in the U.S. under license. Support will be provided to existing PC-6 customers for “at least” 20 years, Pilatus said in 2017. Meanwhile, employees on the PC-6 production line were reassigned to the PC-12 or PC-24 assembly lines.
The PC-6 is known for its short takeoff and landing capabilities and general versatility. Among its achievements, the Pilatus Porter holds a world record for flying several cargo and passenger trips at maximum useful load to 18,700 feet (5,700 meters).