When the Swiss Air Force (SAF) introduced the PC-21 into its training programme, it broke new ground in converting pilots directly from an advanced turboprop aircraft onto the F/A-18C/D Hornet. In the 1990s, the goal of tuition was conversion to the frontline Hawker Hunter or Northrop F-5 Tiger II. By the end of that decade it became evident that requirements for producing an F/A-18 pilot were different. Initially, the training path progressed from the PC-7 Turbo-Trainer via the F-5 to the F/A-18. The Tiger II was falling short and, in a radical move, it was decided that the jet trainer could be replaced by a propeller-driven type. The solution was the PC-21.
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