A floating Special Pilatus PC-6 Seaplane

A rather special PC-6 left the Pilatus production hangars on 31 May 2011. Our Pilatus Porter series number 972 was fitted with floats to allow it to operate on water. The last Porter with floats was delivered to a customer seventeen years ago, back in 1994. Fabienne Iten, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, Stans, Switzerland

It was surely no coincidence, then, that there was a seaplane meeting in Hergiswil on Lake Lucerne over the weekend of 27 to 29 May? And this Porter would be making an appearance? «Unfortunately not», said Franz Odermatt, Head of PC-6 Sales & Customer Service. «A pilot needs a special qualification to operate on water. And we don’t currently have any pilots with that qualification here at Pilatus.» Reto Aeschlimann, our Chief Pilot, tells me that provision of training is under discussion, but no firm decision has been taken yet. Another problem is that, in Switzerland, one has to seek special permission to land on water, i.e. a lake, and this is usually very difficult. The Swiss lakes are not exactly huge, and when one considers the volume of traffic on them, it’s obvious why landing permits are not easy to come by. Trying to set down an aircraft amidst private pleasure boats, tourist steamers, wakeboarders and the occasional daredevil lake-crossing swimmer is likely to be a hazardous undertaking!

Things are a little different in Mongolia, of course. The country occupies an area four and a half times the size of Germany and is home to a population of just three million, making it one of the most sparsely populated places in the world. It is a nation of remote lakes and isolated rivers, where vast expanses of land are entirely uninhabited. Given the sparse population, nomadic lifestyle and harsh weather, the overland transport network remains underdeveloped, so air transport is very important. Mongolia is classic Pilatus Porter country. Our customer, Thomas Air LLC of Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, has plans to use the PC-6 to fly tourists and cargo to previously inaccessible areas of the country.

FLOATS FROM THE USA

There were a few hurdles to overcome in the making of this special Porter. Pilatus was not allowed to make the floats, for example, as this requires a Supplemental Type Certificate. So the floats were made by Wipaire of Minnesota, USA, and shipped to Switzerland in two large containers. With the help of two Wipaire employees, the floats were then attached to the PC-6 in a trial installation. «The most difficult thing was finding somewhere to put the landing gear lever», says Franz Odermatt. «It wasn’t easy, due to the new glass cockpit». But the team came up with a solution and the lever was assembled to the left of the yoke. Which answered my next question about how this PC-6, which is known as an «amphibian», can operate on both land and water. The solution is relatively simple, in that the landing gear can be extended from under the floats.

As we didn’t have the necessary permits to conduct any test flights with the floats, they had to be removed again after the trial installation and replaced with the «normal» landing gear, which took about two days. With the aircraft handover successful and complete, an experienced pilot then took charge of the ferry flight to Mongolia on behalf of the customer. With this first PC-6, operations out in Mongolia can now be extended step by step, and will include reconnaissance flights to identify new locations with good takeoff and landing features. Mongolia is known for its wild horses, of which there are around three million, but we hope there will soon be more workhorses of the flying type, i.e. the Pilatus Porter, to admire!


Source: Pilatus Aircraft Ltd - 30.05.2011 - http://www.pilatus-aircraft.com

Photo: Pilatus Aircraft PC-6 Floats Seaplane (photo by images.pilatus-aircraft.com)

(30.05.2011)