Top speed 245 km/h Length 8.6 m | Wingspan 12 m | |
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The Pilatus P-4 was a Swiss five-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by Pilatus, but had little sales success.
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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 much 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 endproduct, the Pilatus Porter PC-6.
Specifications (P-4)
Data from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52
General characteristics
Performance