The Pilatus B4-PC11 (also known as the PC-11 in the Pilatus numbering sequence) is an all-metal intermediate glider 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 STOL, short takeoff and landing (STOL) ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. The B4-PC11 is designed to Standard Class specifications, meaning that it has a 15-metre wingspan and no

wing flaps A flap is a high-lift device used to reduce the stall (flight), stalling speed of an aircraft wing at a given weight. Flaps are usually mounted on the wing trailing edges of a fixed-wing aircraft. Flaps are used to reduce the take-off distance ...

. Air brakes are provided on the top surface of each wing for glidepath control. Construction is aluminium, with foam ribs in the mainplane, fin and tailplane.

Development

The design of this glider originated in the 1960s, when the company Firma Rheintalwerke G. Basten(from which the "B" in the original designation is derived) manufactured the first two prototypes. The designers were Ingo Herbst, Manfred Küppers and Rudolf Reinke. The first flight of the first prototype took place on 7 November 1966. However, no series production was started. In 1972 Pilatus bought the manufacturing licence for the B-4 and renamed it the B4-PC11. In the spring of the same year the first production example (numbered HB-1100) made its first flight. A total of 322 B4-PC11s of all versions were built by Pilatus by 1980, when the license to manufacture the craft was sold to

Nippi Corporation is a Japanese public multinational corporation manufacturer of motorcycles, engines, heavy equipment, aerospace and defense equipment, rolling stock and ships, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is also active in the production of indust ...

of Japan, who built only 13 gliders, plus one two-seater prototype designated the Nippi B4T. Subsequently, in 1994, EWMS Technomanagement GmbH, which was founded in 1994 at Fribourg, Switzerland and was deregistered in 2024, bought the rights to produce and service the B4-PC11. This company also specialized in renovating and upgrading older B4-PC11 craft. In addition, it manufactured a motorized B4-PC11.

Variants

;B4-PC11: Permitted to fly a number of

aerobatic Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...

manoeuvres, it was not permitted to do inverted loops or flick/snap/quick maneuvers. The B4-PC11 was available with either fixed or retractable landing gear. ;B4-PC11A: developed to perform inverted loops and was also able to handle higher

g-force The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...

s. ;B4-PC11AF: released in 1975, with full aerobatic capabilities.

in Japan produced 13 pieces with Japanese Type Certificate Nippi-Pilatus B4-PC11AF (1978-1994). Then the rights were transferred to EWMS Technomanagement. ; Nippi B4TTeikyo Univ.

Photo of B4T. 9 April 2025: One prototype tandem was made by Nippi in 1983. ;Lynch B4M1: a motor glider conversion in Australia by John F. Lynch, powered by a

König SC 430 The König SC 430 is a three-cylinder, two-stroke, single ignition radial aircraft engine designed for powered paragliders and single place ultralight trikes.Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page G-5 Cybair ...

engine. The changes in construction from B4-PC11 through A and AF variants were to add extra ribs through the fuselage section (increasing torsional rigidity, only AF variant), and to modify the control column stops and shorten the rudder, giving greater control surface deflection.

Specifications

References

* Hardy, M. ''Gliders & Sailplanes of the World''. Ian Allan, 1982 {{Pilatus aircraft PC-11 1960s Swiss sailplanes Glider aircraft High-wing aircraft T-tail aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1966 Aircraft with retractable bicycle landing gear

Development

Variants

Specifications

See also

References