Context: Two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots were killed after their Pilatus PC-7 Mk II trainer aircraft crashed during a routine training flight from the Air Force Academy at Dundigal, Telangana.
Trainer Aircraft
- A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews.
- Trainer aircraft fly slower, have less complex systems, and are designed to be resistant to and recoverable from stalls and spins. They are also much cheaper, allowing air forces to buy them in bulk to train cadets.
- Currently, there are 75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II aircraft in service with the IAF (including the one which crashed today. These are used for basic training, the first stage in a cadet’s flight training.
- Modern military aircraft are notoriously difficult to master for rookie pilots (new recruits). Hence, they are trained on basic aircraft.
- After this, cadets graduate to the HAL Kiran, an intermediate jet-powered indigenously developed trainer aircraft, followed by the BAE Hawk, a British jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft.
About Pilatus PC-7 Mk II
- Pilatus Aircraft Ltd is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland, which specialises in producing short take-off and landing aircraft, as well as trainer aircraft for air forces across the world.
- The PC-7 is a low-wing, turbo-prop aircraft with tandem seating (the cadet sits in the front, the instructor behind him).
- Powered by a turbo-prop engine, it has a maximum speed of 412 km/h and can fly to a height of slightly more than 10,000 m. It has a range of 1,200 km without external tanks, which translates to slightly more than 4 hours of flying time.
Will PC-7 Mk II be replaced?
- In March, the Defence Ministry signed a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to procure 70 HTT-40 at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore.
- Designed indigenously at HAL’s Aircraft Research & Design Centre, the HTT-40 is a basic trainer aircraft powered by a four-bladed turbo-prop engine (PC-7 is three-bladed).
- The aircraft will have an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refuelling (with engines running), and zero-zero ejection seats. The aircrafts are scheduled to be delivered over a period of six years.