BERN AIRPORT / February 13, 2019 – Soon Swiss government officials are transported with a VIP aircraft from the Swiss aircaft manufacturer – Pilatus Aircraft. The Swiss Air Force received a brand new PC-24 business last week. The aircraft will replace the Cessna Citation that was used before as a government plane.

The Pilatus PC-24 is a light business jet. Following the PC-12 single turboprop success, Pilatus started the development of the aircraft in 2007 for greater range and speed, keeping the rugged airfield capability. The aircraft was introduced on May 21, 2013 and rolled out on 1 August 2014, with its maiden flight on May 11, 2015. The PC-24 received EASA and FAA type certification on December 7, 2017 and the first customer delivery was on February 7, 2018. Powered by two Williams FJ44 turbofans, it competes with the Embraer Phenom 300 or the Cessna Citation CJ4.

The Swiss ‘Air Force One’ – registration HB-VPN, future registration T-786 – has 8 seats and can fly more than 3,700 kilometers. The Swiss government expects to use the aircraft mainly for trips within Europe.

(Image: from Matt’s Aviation Channel video on YouTube)