INTERNATIONAL
Schiff Evaluates PL-12U Airtruk by Captain Barry Schiff (Circa 2012) Submitted by Mike Feeney www.barryschiff.com
Above: A rear view of the Transavia PL-12U Airtruk with its twin tail empennage. RIght: Captain Barry Schiff prepares to depart from the Nyngan Airport in Australia’s Outback.
A 20 | agairupdate.com
There was nothing unusual about my approach to Nyngan Airport in Australia’s Outback. But my airplane looked so unusual that the local press came to investigate the curious craft that had slipped from the sky to visit their remote community. What they saw evoked quizzical expressions, poorly disguised chuckles, and a deluge of questioning. There is no disputing it. The Transavia PL-12U Airtruk is a strange-looking airplane. Like a Boeing 747, it has two passenger decks. The pilot and one passenger sit on top in tandem, but the passenger faces aft. Three additional passengers share the lower deck, and they too face rearward. The Airtruk appears ungainly, resembling
a Volkswagen that has been modified to look like a Cessna Skymaster with one engine. But instead of having a single horizontal stabilizer, the empennage consists of 2 independent T-tails, each supported by its own slim boom. A pair of stub wings adds to the curiosity. Gil Forrester, Transavia’s general manager, welcomed me to Sydney. He is amicable, quiet, and polite to the point of formality, not what you would expect of a transplanted New Yorker. He was committed to the Airtruk and defended the homely-looking airplane against any insult, implied or direct. Forrester volunteered that the Airtruk was conceived as an agricultural aircraft, which explains some of its unorthodox features. ➤
