The first Pilatus PC-7 Turbo Trainer of the Koninklijke Luchtmacht (KLU or Royal Netherlands Air Force) upgraded by Pilatus Aircraft in Stans, Switzerland, was officially handed over to the KLU on July 18. The aircraft, serial L-01 (c/n 538), returned to Woensdrecht Air Base the next day, where it re-joined 131 EMVO Squadron. This was the first of ten PC- 7s delivered to the Elementaire Militaire Vlieger Opleiding (EMVO or elementary military pilot training) at Woensdrecht in 1989. A further three PC-7s (L-11 to L-13) were delivered in 1997.
Following the signing of a contract for the upgrade of the first ten aircraft in July 2015, L-01 arrived at Stans-Buochs Airfield on May 2, 2016, to act as a prototype for the upgrade programme. Last year, the contract was extended to include all 13 KLU PC-7s. The upgrade includes the Obsolescence Prevention Program (OPP), Structural Enhancement (SE) and a 200-hour inspection. Both the OPP and SE will enable 131 EMVO Squadron to get the maximum out of the PC-7’s life expectancy of 12,000 flying hours or 24,000 landings per aircraft. The squadron expects to continue PC-7 operations until at least 2027.
The OPP includes conversion to a fully glass cockpit, using three displays for both the flight and engine instruments. Other modifications are new navigation and radio equipment, new landing lights and installation of an automatic direction finder, allowing the PC-7 to comply with current-day civil flight regulations. In the SE programme, the aircraft’s fuselage, tail and wings are strengthened and adjusted.
The remaining twelve PC-7s will go through the upgrade programme two at a time; aircraft L-07 and L-11 arrived at Stans on July 6. Modifications take twelve weeks per airframe. The final aircraft are expected back at Woensdrecht in mid- October 2018. Kees van der Mark
