Pilatus PC-21

Updated: October 2026 – A slim propeller trainer streaks low over the runway, pulls up steeply and rolls so fast that your camera can barely keep up. When five scimitar-shaped propeller blades spin up front and the instructor sits clearly higher than the student behind the canopy, you have a Pilatus PC-21 in front of you. The Swiss trainer is considered one of the most powerful turboprops in its class and today trains the pilots in many air forces who will later fly the Hornet, the Rafale or the F-35. Here you will learn how to identify it with confidence, who operates it and where your chances of a sighting are best.

What is the Pilatus PC-21?

The PC-21 is a two-seat, single-engine turboprop trainer from Pilatus Aircraft in Stans in the canton of Nidwalden. Pilatus has a long tradition with training aircraft: the PC-7 and the PC-9 were among the best-selling turboprop trainers in the world for decades. With the PC-21, the company wanted to go a step further and build a propeller trainer that feels like a jet in performance, cockpit and handling.

The road there began in the late 1990s. In 1997, Pilatus tested new components on a modified PC-7 Mk II, including a different wing and a PT6 engine. This led to the actual PC-21 design. In spring 2002, the first prototype with the registration HB-HZA rolled out of the hangar, and on July 1, 2002 it took off for its first flight. In December 2004, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation granted type certification.

Testing did not go without a setback: on January 13, 2005, the second prototype HB-HZB crashed during an aerobatic training flight at Buochs, and the pilot was killed. The investigation later named pilot error as one of the main causes. The program continued, and from 2008 the first production aircraft went to air forces.

Technology: why the PC-21 flies like a jet

The heart is a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68B with about 1,600 shaft horsepower, or a good 1,200 kilowatts. It drives a Hartzell five-blade propeller of almost 2.4 meters in diameter. Together with the short wing designed for speed, the PC-21 reaches about 685 km/h at sea level. The rate of climb is about 4,000 feet per minute, and the load limits in aerobatics are +8 and −4 g. According to reference works, the roll rate is about 200 degrees per second at 10,000 feet – a very high value for a trainer.

At least as important is the interior. Student and instructor sit on Martin-Baker ejection seats of type CH16C, which also work on the ground and at a standstill. Each seat has a glass cockpit with three large screens and a head-up display. It is operated on the HOTAS principle: the most important switches sit on the stick and throttle, just like in a modern combat aircraft. A built-in simulation replicates radar, electronic warfare and data link. From the rear seat, the instructor can alter the student’s displays and inject failures.

For air forces there is a simple calculation behind this: what used to be practiced only in the expensive jet trainer can be partly shifted to the PC-21. Switzerland therefore replaced the BAE Hawk, France took over some of the Alpha Jet’s tasks with the PC-21, and Spain retired its CASA C-101 jet trainer. In other training systems, a modern jet trainer like the Leonardo M-346 follows after the PC-21.

How to recognize the PC-21

On the apron of a military airfield, several propeller trainers often stand side by side. Three glances are enough to pick out the PC-21.

The overall picture fits: retractable landing gear, angular lines and almost always a military livery with air force serials. Civil HB registrations are usually carried only by prototypes and new aircraft on factory flights before delivery. How Swiss registrations are structured is explained in the article Swiss HB registrations.

PC-21, PC-7, PC-9 or T-6 Texan II?

The Pilatus trainers look similar, and with the American Beechcraft T-6 Texan II there is even a descendant of the PC-9. This finder helps you narrow it down.

Piston-engine training aircraft like the Grob G 115 are ruled out by their fixed landing gear and side-by-side seating alone. And jet trainers like the Hawk or M-346 have no propeller – even if the PC-21 sometimes looks almost as fast on a flypast.

The operators at a glance

Pilatus has sold the PC-21 to a whole range of air forces. As of October 2026, reference works list well over 200 aircraft built and over 300 ordered. The following table shows the main operators with the documented order quantities; deliveries and follow-on orders can change continually.

Country	Number	Context
Switzerland	8	Lead-in jet pilot training, Emmen
France	26	Fighter pilot school (EAC) in Cognac
Spain	40	As the E.27 at the Air Force Academy San Javier and at CLAEX
Singapore	19	Launch customer, training in Australia
Australia	49	RAAF pilot training
Saudi Arabia	55	Ordered in 2012
United Arab Emirates	25	Introduced in 2009 at the Dubai Airshow
Qatar	24	Ordered in 2012
Canada	about 20	As the CT-157 Siskin II, Moose Jaw

Added to this are a smaller fleet in Jordan and two aircraft operated by the British company QinetiQ for the test pilot school ETPS at Boscombe Down. Indonesia also reportedly ordered PC-21s in spring 2026.

Switzerland: eight PC-21s at Emmen

For the Swiss Air Force, the PC-21 is the last step before the fighter jet. After the BAE Hawk was retired in the early 2000s, an advanced trainer was missing. Procurement ran through the 2006 armament program, and the Air Force took over the first aircraft in 2008. At the end of 2010, Switzerland ordered two more aircraft. The eight PC-21s carry the serials A-101 to A-108 and belong to the Air Force pilot school at Emmen military airfield near Lucerne.

On November 28, 2023, a Swiss PC-21 ran off the runway on landing at Emmen, and both pilots saved themselves with the ejection seats. The incident shows that the ejection seats are not just on paper.

Those trained at Emmen then move on to combat aircraft – so far the F/A-18 Hornet, next the F-35 procured by Switzerland. As a result, PC-21s are regularly in Swiss airspace, mainly in central Switzerland. What to keep in mind when photographing around Swiss military airfields is covered in the article Plane spotting in Switzerland.

France: the fighter pilot school in Cognac

With 26 aircraft, France is the largest European operator after Spain. The contract for an initial 17 PC-21s was signed at the end of December 2016 not by the Air Force itself but by the service provider Babcock, which supplies aircraft, simulators and maintenance as a package. The first aircraft were accepted at Buochs in summer 2018, and the official ceremony followed in Cognac in October 2018. In 2021, nine more aircraft were added, arriving from the end of 2022.

The French PC-21s are stationed at Base aérienne 709 Cognac-Châteaubernard with the École de l’aviation de chasse, the school for prospective fighter pilots. The serials begin with 709, the base’s number. Before you set off, it is worth reading the article Photographing at French airports.

Spain: 40 aircraft as the E.27

In January 2020, Spain signed a contract for 24 aircraft including simulators. With that, Spain replaced the CASA C-101 Aviojet jet trainer. The first two aircraft arrived in September 2021, and the first tranche was complete by mid-2022. A second order for 16 aircraft followed, among other things to also replace basic training on the previous T-35 Pillán propeller trainer. The last two aircraft went to the CLAEX test center in Torrejón in early 2026.

Most of the fleet flies at the Academia General del Aire in San Javier near Murcia, where Spanish officer cadets complete their flight training. At the parade for the Spanish national day on October 12, 2025, according to reference works, five PC-21s flew as the “Formación Mirlo” in place of the Patrulla Águila aerobatic team, whose C-101s are retired. What legally applies to spotting in Spain is covered in the article Spotting in Spain.

Where to see the PC-21

Place	Chance of a sighting	Why
Emmen and central Switzerland	medium	Home of the eight Swiss PC-21s, operations follow the training schedule
Buochs (Nidwalden)	low to medium	Factory flights of new aircraft at Pilatus before delivery
Cognac (France)	high on air days	26 aircraft at one location
San Javier (Spain)	high on air days	Largest PC-21 fleet in Europe
Air shows in Europe	varies	Occasional demonstrations and static displays, check the program beforehand

Military PC-21s often do not transmit complete data that can be filtered by type in tracking services. How to keep an eye on military traffic anyway is explained in the guide Tracking military aircraft online. For a broader overview of the military types you will encounter in Europe, see Recognizing fighter jets in Europe.

General advice on spotting at military sites is in the article Photographing military airfields: rules.

Photo tips for the PC-21

The PC-21 is small, fast and agile – a combination that demands good panning. A few points help.

More on technique at flying displays is in the guide Photographing air shows, and which teams in Europe fly with propeller trainers is shown in the overview Aerobatic teams of Europe.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The PC-21 is proof that a propeller aircraft does not have to be old-fashioned in modern military training. Five blades, the stepped canopy and the short wing make it the easiest Pilatus trainer to identify. Because it shows up almost only at military airfields and air shows, every sighting remains something special – at Emmen, Cognac or San Javier your chances are best.