Australasia
ARDU PC-21 A54-045/HB-HWS at Stans-Buochs on July 12. Stephan Widmer
A FIRST PC-21 for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) wearing a new grey colour scheme emerged for its preflight tests recently. The aircraft, A54-045/HB-HWS (c/n 278), was rolled out of the Pilatus factory at Stans-Buochs on July 12. The PC-21, which also has a sharkmouth marking, is destined for the Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) – in fact, it is the third PC-21 for this formation. The other two ARDU PC-21s are serials A54-017 (c/n 250) and A54-018 (c/n 251), both painted red. The last four PC-21s for Australia (A54-046 to A54-049) – also with the grey colour scheme – will serve in the forward air controller training role with No 4 Squadron at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales.
