Pilatus PC-7 Mk II

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About Pilatus PC-7 Mk II

It is a trainer aircraft.
It is a low-wing, turbo-prop aircraft with tandem seating (the cadet sits in the front, the instructor behind him).
While the original aircraft has been in service since the 1970s, the Mk II version was introduced in the 1990s, with a newer airframe and more advanced avionics.
It is Powered by a Pratt & Whitney turbo-prop engine, it has a maximum speed of 412 km/h and can fly to a height of slightly more than 10,000 m.
It has a range of 1,200 km without external tanks, which translates to slightly more than 4 hours of flying time.
There are 75 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II aircraft in service with the IAF.

What is a trainer aircraft?

A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews.
Modern military aircraft are notoriously difficult to master for rookie pilots. Hence, they must first be trained on other, more basic aircraft.
Trainer aircraft are far more forgiving than the aircraft military pilots will eventually fly — they fly slower, have less complex systems, and are designed to be resistant to and recoverable from stalls and spins, a common challenge for rookie pilots.
They are also much cheaper, allowing air forces to buy them in bulk to train cadets.

Q1) What is a turboprop engine?

It is a variant of a jet engine that has been optimised to drive a propeller. Turboprop equipped aircraft are very efficient at lower flight speeds (less than mach 0.6), burning less fuel per seat-mile and requiring significantly less runway for takeoff and landing than a turbojet or turbofan powered aircraft of the same size.

Source: Pilatus PC-7 Mk II crash: 5 things to know about the trainer aircraft