Pilatus Aircraft celebrated its 75th anniversary with a roll-out of a PC-12 NG sporting the design of famed Swiss painter Hans Erni.  Erni, approaching his 106th birthday in February, used a royal blue background with drawings of white horses, peace doves and Pegasus to symbolize the PC-12 NG as a workhorse.

Erni signed and dated the special edition PC-12 NG, Serial Number 1515, which will be on display at a number of airshows and conventions next year.

"I'm proud to think that my drawings are now destined to fly around the world," said Erni, who has created hundreds of lithographs, posters and murals for the Swiss Red Cross, UNESCO, the International Olympic Committee and the International Civil Aviation Organization, among others. He qualified as a private pilot in 1946, and many of his works involve aviation.

Pilatus, which launched the PC-12 in 1994, has sold more than 1,300 of the single-turboprop aircraft, one of the more successful turboprop models and among the Swiss manufacturer’s most successful aircraft programs. The company, meanwhile, on December 16, officially turned 75.