The Pilatus PC-21 training aircraft of the Spanish Air Force seen up close

On September 14, 2021 the first two units of the Pilatus PC-21 aircraft of the Spanish Air Force arrived in San Javier.

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In 2020, Spain acquired 24 units of this Swiss-made turboprop training aircraft, in order to replace the CASA C-101 Aviojet jets of the General Air Academy (AGA) in San Javier, in the Region of Murcia, in advanced flight training tasks. In March 2023, the purchase of 16 additional PC-21s was announced, 2 of them for the Armament and Experimentation Logistics Center (CLAEX) and the remaining 14 to replace the fleet of 36 T-35C Pillán aircraft, called E.26 Tamiz by the Spanish Air Force, used until then for basic flight training.

A month ago, the Spanish PC-21s completed 15,000 flight hours. It should be noted that now a large part of the flight training is done in simulators, so the number of hours is even more remarkable. This Saturday, the Youtube channel Fly By Wire Aviation (to which I recommend you subscribe if you are interested in topics related to the aircraft) has published an interesting video showing these planes up close, during a visit by several of them to the Getafe Air Base:

In this video we can see the plane from the outside and also the inside of its cockpit, which stands out for its large digital screens. There are some details that caught my attention in the video, such as the detonating cord in the canopy of the cockpit, but only over the front seat (I don't know the reason for its absence in the back seat).

On the other hand, we can also see up close the static electricity discharge rods on the rear of the fin and stabilizers (it must be taken into account that an airplane generates a lot of static and it is released in this way to avoid accidental discharges on the ground).

On the other hand, yesterday the Air Force reported on the first flight of a Spanish PC-21 carrying external fuel tanks. "This represents another milestone in the consolidation of the new aircraft as an integrated flight training system for AGA students", the Spanish Air Force said.

The Spanish Air Force added: "These external fuel tanks will allow the aircraft's range to double, reaching 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km)."

This capability only partly compensates for some of the performance losses that the PC-21 entails compared to the C-101, since the Spanish jet has a range of 4,000 kilometers, according to the Spanish Air Force notes on its website.

+ UPDATED 12/26/2024 2:00 AM: On the subject of the cockpit detonating cord, a kind reader sends me the following explanation: "The detonating cord only goes in the front cabin because the thickness of the acrylic is greater than that of the rear cabin. This is because it must withstand the impact of the air from the front while the rear does not. That is why only the canopy embrittler is installed in the front to allow ejection without harm to the pilot."