In 1959 the Swiss aircraft manufacturing company Pilatus created the
PC-6 Porter, a lightweight multi-purpose single-engine plane with a 340 hp Lycoming GSO-480 engine. The plane was only built in
small numbers (72), but despite its apparent simplicity its design showed
great potential for a variety of applications. Two years later appeared the
PC-6/A Turbo Porter with a 520 hp Turbomeca Astazou turboprop
engine which improved on its predecessor in every important respect. Later
another engine was installed in the plane, the 550 hp
Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A. On both sides of the fuselage in this 'B'
version, as well as sliding doors on each side, there were individual
pilot's doors. As in the PC-6A the nose was straightened with an elongated
shape in cross section. In the PC-6/B2-H2 modification a 680 horsepower
engine was installed, which improved the capability of the aircraft even
more.
The latest and most modern variant of the type is the PC-6/B2-H4, the main
visual difference of which is the four blade airscrew, redesigned wingtips
and also a more powerful engine. An additional option is the facility to
install radar under the wing. Significant numbers of the PC-6/B2-H4 are
still operated by the Air Forces of France, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil and
other countries today. Their main task is to patrol highland or coastal
areas where the topography is very rough. The ability of the PC-6 to set
down and take to the air from sites poorly adapted for the purpose leaves
it an uncontested choice for the Air Forces of those countries where such
machines are a mandatory requirement for military service.
The turboprop PC-6 became popular very quickly among pilots, and the plane
started being exported beyond the borders of Switzerland to many countries
in different continents of the world. Nearly half a century after its debut
flight the PC-6 is in military and civil service in many parts of the
planet, being in good company with such renowned aircraft as the Piper Cub
and the Antonov An-2, proving that sometimes an
unassuming and seemingly simple design can outlast many of its more modern
and more advanced 'colleagues'.