Pilatus P-4

P-4
Model of the Pilatus P-4
Role Five-seat cabin monoplane
National origin Switzerland
Manufacturer Pilatus
First flight 1948
Retired 1957
Number built 1


The Pilatus P-4 was a Swiss five-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by Pilatus but had little sales success.

Design and development

The P-4 was not designed specifically as a passenger aircraft, but rather as a versatile working aircraft. The aim was to build a robust aircraft with good slow-flying handling, requiring only short takeoff and landing runs and little maintenance. The P-4 HB-AET took off for its maiden flight on 22 March 1948. Series production never went ahead due to capacity bottlenecks.

The P-4 was unveiled to a wide international public at the 18th Paris Air Show in 1949, and attracted a lot of interest. There were plans to fit the P-4 with floats, or a combination wheel-ski landing gear.

The P-4 was also destined for agricultural work.

On 13 October 1957, the P-4 crashed in the Susten Pass region while on an exercise with the Swiss Air Rescue Service, and was completely written off. Pilatus Aircraft Ltd had always owned the P-4 until that time.

Comparing the P-4 to the PC-6, which was built eleven years later, the P-4 was clearly an intermediate stage on the way to the mature end product, the Pilatus Porter PC-6.

Specifications (P-4)

Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52[1]

General characteristics

Performance

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Bridgman 1951, p. 190c.

Sources

  • Bridgman, Leonard (1951). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
  • Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
  • The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.

External links