The Pilatus P-4 was a Swiss five-seat cabin monoplane designed and built by Pilatus, but had little sales success.
| P-4 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Model of the Pilatus P-4 | |
| Role | Five-seat cabin monoplane |
| National origin | Switzerland |
| Manufacturer | Pilatus |
| First flight | 1948 |
| Retired | 1957 |
| Status | Cancelled |
| Number built | 1 |
Design and development
editThe P-4 was not designed specifically as a passenger aircraft but rather as a versatile working aircraft. The aim was to build a robust aircraft with good slow-flying handling, requiring only short takeoff and landing runs and little maintenance.
The P-4 was a high-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. The aircraft's fuselage was of fabric-covered steel-tube construction; the wing, which was braced to the fuselage by steel V-struts, was of wooden construction.[1][2] It was powered by a 190 hp (140 kW) Lycoming GO-435 engine (later replaced by a 240 hp (180 kW) GO-435-C2a) driving a two-bladed variable-pitch propeller.[3] Its enclosed cabin could accommodate a pilot and four passengers, with the provision for carrying two stretchers, photographic equipment or crop spraying equipment. Alternative ski or float undercarriages could be fitted.[2]
The prototype P-4, aircraft registration HB-AET, took off for its maiden flight on 22 March 1948.[4] Although the aircraft was exhibited at the 1949 Paris Air Show, it did not enter production owing to a lack of production capacity, Pilatus being busy refurbishing the Swiss Air Force's P-51 Mustang fighters and later, license-building de Havilland Venom jet fighters.[2]
On 13 October 1957, the P-4 crashed in the Susten Pass region while on an exercise with the Swiss Air Rescue Service and was completely written off. Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. had always owned the P-4 until that time.
Specifications (P-4)
editData from Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52[1]
General characteristics
- Crew: one
- Capacity: four passengers
- Length: 8.6 m (28 ft 3 in)
- Wingspan: 11.85 m (38 ft 11 in)
- Height: 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
- Wing area: 20.9 m2 (225 sq ft)
- Empty weight: 910 kg (2,006 lb)
- Gross weight: 1,500 kg (3,307 lb)
- Fuel capacity: 230 L (61 US gal; 51 imp gal)
- Powerplant: 1 × Lycoming O-435 , 140 kW (190 hp)
Performance
- Maximum speed: 245 km/h (152 mph, 132 kn)
- Cruise speed: 152 km/h (94 mph, 82 kn)
- Range: 1,000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
- Rate of climb: 4.5 m/s (890 ft/min)
References
editNotes
Sources
- Bridgman, Leonard (1951). Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1951–52. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, Ltd.
- Genève, Alain (December 1989). "50 ans d'activités aéronautiques au pied du Mont Pilatus". Le Fana de l'Aviation (in French). No. 241. pp. 5–12.
- Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions.
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982-1985). Orbis Publishing.
External links
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