Pilatus PC-6 Porter
The original piston-engine Pilatus PC-6 Porter predates the far more common turboprop-converted PC-6 Turbo Porter, built in the late 1950s as a rugged short-takeoff-and-landing utility aircraft for mountainous Swiss terrain. Its slow stall speed and large flaps let it operate from tiny, rough airstrips that most fixed-wing aircraft of its era couldn't use at all. The piston engine, less powerful than the turboprop conversion that followed, limited its payload and high-altitude performance compared with later Turbo Porters. Most surviving Porters today have been converted to turboprop power, making the original piston version comparatively rare.
Did you know?
The PC-6P is the original piston-engined Pilatus Porter, built before the far more common turboprop Turbo Porter conversion most survivors now fly with.
Specifications
| Length | 10.9 m (36 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 15.1 m (50 ft) |
| Height | 3.2 m (10 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 6 |
| Persons on board | 11 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 2.2 t |
| Range | 480 NM (889 km) |
| Maximum speed | 130 kt (241 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 18,000 ft (5,486 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 17,500 ft (5,334 m) |
| Rate of climb | 580 ft/min (2.9 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 400 m (1,312 ft) |
| Landing distance | 300 m (984 ft) |
| Engines | 1x Lycoming GO-480 (piston) |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Pilatus PC-6 Porter starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Pilatus, the PC-6 Porter family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
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