PC6 Pilatus Turboporter Para Sport Club Triengen HB-FKC

The Para-Sport-Club Triengen (PSC), founded on November 9, 1958 in the Bären Langenthal, found its temporary home at the Sitterdorf airfield via the Sisseln airfield in Aargau and via Lommis.

When the Flying Ranch opened in 1970, the club moved its skydiving operations to Triengen airfield. Initially, a Pilatus Porter powered by a piston engine from the Flying Ranch was used for skydiving, followed by the club's own Cessna 206 "O'Henry".

In 1981, the club was forced to purchase a new aircraft as it was not possible to modify the Cessna to a turbine engine. Without further ado, the president at the time purchased an aging piston Pilatus Porter (serial no. 516) from the German Ruhr region for DM 50,000.

Thanks to generous loans from members and a bank loan, this Pilatus was converted to a turbine engine and registered as HB-FAF in the Swiss aircraft register. A minor accident with a total loss on October 3, 1982 forced the procurement of a replacement aircraft.

A turbine-equipped Porter (serial no. 658 - aircraft registration HB-FDH), which was used for agricultural spraying by the "Ciba Pilatus Aerial Spraying Company", was acquired and converted for skydiving operations.

In 1987, a newly overhauled turbine-powered Porter B2H4 - with fewer airframe hours and a higher take-off weight - was acquired from the manufacturer Pilatus with serial no. 844. The long-standing "rainbow" design was replaced in 2001 by today's unique "Night Flight" design. Newly equipped with IFR equipment, the 4-blade propeller up-grade soon followed.

In 2009, the standard 27 turbine was replaced by the more powerful 34 turbine, which - fully loaded with 10 jumpers - makes it possible to reach 4270 m above sea level within 15 minutes at any outside temperature.

Skydiving - especially training - is the central focus of the PSC. Triengen offers tandem, AFF freefall and ripcord first jumps and is the ideal and familiar location for team training, Swiss championships, wing-suit flights as well as simply for "fun jumps".