The Pilatus P-3 was a military training aircraft built by

Pilatus Aircraft Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. is an aerospace manufacturer located in Stans, Switzerland. In June 2016, the company employed 1,905 people. The company has mostly produced aircraft for niche markets, in particular short takeoff and landing (STOL) airc ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Design and development

The Pilatus P-3 was designed for primary and advanced training (including night flying, aerobatics and instrument flying). The military version was designated P-3-03. It was of all-metal construction with a retractable tricycle undercarriage and tandem seating. There was provision for underwing racks for light practice bombs or rockets and a machine gun in a pod below the port wing.

Operational history

The first prototype was built in 1953 and flew on 3 September, the same year. The

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (german: Schweizer Luftwaffe; french: Forces aériennes suisses; it, Forze aeree svizzere; rm, Aviatica militara svizra) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914 as a part of the army an ...

received 72 examples of this aircraft while the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= " Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship '' Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibio ...

acquired six. The Swiss Air Force used the P-3 as a training aircraft until 1983, although it continued to be used as a

liaison aircraft A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. The concept developed before World War II and ...

for another decade. In 1993–1995, 65 ex-Swiss Air Force aircraft were sold on the private market.

Operators

; *

* P3 Flyers The P-3 Flyers is an independent air display team based in Switzerland. Formed in 1996. it currently operates five ex-Swiss Air Force P3 aircraft.P3 Flyers
Aeroclub Parma (retrieved 25 January 2015)

Specifications (Pilatus P-3-03)

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Pilatus aircraft P-03 1950s Swiss military trainer aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1953