The King tests the plane in which Princess Leonor will learn to fly

This Saturday, the King took control of the Pilatus PC-21 , the Air Force training aircraft in which Princess Leonor will learn to fly next year when she performs practical exercises after entering the San Javier General Air Academy.

Felipe VI is in San Javier (Murcia) to attend the 'Aire 25' festival this weekend, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Patrulla Águila. This Saturday, dressed in a flight suit, the King, accompanied by an instructor from the academy, made a forty-minute flight aboard the military training plane currently used by students. During the flight, the plane the King was flying performed a two-aircraft formation and performed various maneuvers and movements.

The then Prince Felipe trained at the San Javier Academy in the 1987-88 academic year, but then learned to fly in a CASA C-101 , a training aircraft, known as the "culopollo", which three years ago was replaced by the Pilatus PC-2 1. This Sunday will be the last opportunity to see the former CASA in flight with the Patrulla Águila, which also begins its transition period towards the Pilatus.

Captain Belmonte, according to the Europa Press agency, explained that the Pilatus is "one of the best aircraft" currently available for training military pilots, describing it as "agile." "It's fun to fly; it's truly incredible, one of the best on the market for training, with a great capacity for adapting to a pilot's needs," the instructor added.

According to Efe, this is a state-of-the-art turboprop aircraft that combines power, agility, safety, and maneuverability, with a range of 1,300 kilometers. The Spanish Air Force considers it the perfect platform for future pilots to learn to fly. Although this model's first flight took place in 2002, it didn't enter service in Spain until 20 years later, in 2022.

This is the first of two days the King will spend this weekend in San Javier, which includes a visit to the exhibition set up at the base where some thirty aircraft have been displayed, some of them historic, such as the Harrier fighter, the H135 helicopter, and the Indian Tejas LC aircraft.