The P3 Family has grown
The Pilatus P3
Up until the mid 50s', young Swiss
military pilots learnt the basic skills on the Bücker Jungman and
Jungmeister to then move on to the Pilatus P2 for instrument and
formation flying and, in a following phase, moved on to the North
American AT-16 and Morane D3801 for tactical flying.
The basic idea was thus to build an aircraft that could cover all training's areas and could prepare the young pilots to transition to the De Havilland Vampire and Venom jet fighters.
A tricicle gear, superb visibility, an IFR panel and, last but not least, a competitive price were deemed to be essential.
It was clear from the beginning, that there would be no financial backing from the government. The whole burden would have to be borne by Pilatus. A man named Heinrich Fierz would make it happen
Fierz, born in Herrliberg in 1897,
after completing his studies at Winterthur's technical college, moved
to the USA, where he lived for 5 years, working for Douglas, Curtiss
and Packard.
Upon his return to Switzerland he first worked as a Chief Engineer for
the Swiss aircraft manufacturer Alfred Comte (1925 - 1933), then moved
to Swissair, where he acted as Technical Director from 1934 till 1940
and finally moved to Pilatus Flugzeugwerke, where he was promoted
Technical Director in 1946.
During various discussions with several KTA's high ranking officers
(Kriegstechnische Abteilung), he managed to determine what Swiss Air
Force's future needs were.
Fierz lead his team with competence. His decisions were largely based
on his experience and on facts.
Leo Stofer was in charge of designing the fuselage, which is a
semi-monocoque construction with oval section. Münch was
responsible for the statics, whilst Wenzel Landolf was in charge of
aerodynamics.
Their work resulted in the excellent manoeuverability and overall
quality of the aircraft
At some stage, Landolf suggested to shorten the fuselage by 50cm to
increase manoeuverability and save on weight, without influencing
stability. Fierz accepted Landolf's proposal, ignoring, at that stage,
that this would lead to serious problems later on.
The maiden flight of P3-01 HB-HON prototype, powered by a Lycoming
GO-435-C2 and a 2 blades Hartzell constant speed propeller, was made
with Georg Gisler at the controls. Gisler confirmed the validity of
Landolf's work in almost all areas. HB-HON was extensively tested by
the Swiss Air Force during 1953 and 1954.
A second prototype, P3-02 HB-HOO took the air in August 1954, powered
by a different engine, the Lycoming GO-435-C2-A2 with a dry sump oil
system, that was more suitable for aerobatics and was equipped for
military purposes. It also had hardpoints under the wings to carry
light weaponry and machine guns for gunnery training. An option that
was carried over to the -03 series.
HB-HOO was used in the legendary demonstration flight, that took place
in Altenrhein.
See the P3 advertising of the sixties
Not everything was good though. The
P3's most striking problem was its lack of power. It had brilliant
aerodynamic characteristics, that allowed a wide range of aerobatic
manoeuvers. The penalty was, however, a massive loss of altitude, that
had to be regained after each short sequence. In addition, the poor
climbing performance was in strong contrast with the philosophy of the
time of making maximum utilisation of the vertical component in aerial
combat.
Despite the modest performance, the Swiss Air Force ordered 12
aircraft, that underwent a series of tests aimed at verifying the
model's viability in the training role. These were P3-03 equipped with
a 3-blade Hartzell constant speed propeller.