Bulgaria’s President pilots trainer as Air Force celebrates Pilatus anniversary
Bulgarian head of state President Roumen Radev, a skilled military pilot and a former commander of the Air Force, piloted a Pilatus RS-21 trainer on July 16 as part of celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the Air Force’s adoption of aircraft manufactured by the Swiss firm.
The Bulgarian Air Force received Pilatus PC-9M training aircraft and PC-12/45 transport aircraft in 2004.
A media statement by the presidency said that Radev highlighted the excellent flying qualities of the aircraft, which is of a new generation in training aircraft aviation, and noted the impressive technical characteristics and equipment, which is fully compatible with that of the F-16 Block 70, as well as the price-quality ratio of the platform.
He said that the success of the programme for the acquisition of the F-16 fighter jets by the Bulgarian Air Force depends on the ability of the Air Force to effectively train its pilots.
(Photos: president.bg)
