RARE
C212
CASA C-212 Aviocar
The Aviocar
“Short, rough runways are the whole point.”
CASA / Indonesian Aerospace · military
Length
53 ft 0 in
Wingspan
66 ft 6 in
Max speed
200 kts
Range
450 nmi with full military load
Ceiling
26,000 ft
Engines
2x Garrett TPE331 turboprops (900 hp each)
Crew
2
Max passengers
28
Typical config
2 crew + 28 passengers or 25 paratroopers
Built
600+
The CASA C-212 Aviocar is a boxy, unpressurized twin turboprop built to operate where runways barely exist. Fixed gear, a rear loading ramp, and short-field manners made it a favorite of air forces, special operations units, skydivers, and smokejumpers. Spain built it first; Indonesia still builds it today.
Fun fact
More than 50 years after its 1971 first flight, the C-212 is still in production — now built in Indonesia as the NC212i.
How to spot one
A flying shoebox: slab sides, high wing, fixed landing gear, rear ramp. If one is circling a drop zone, count the skydivers coming out the back.
Crews call it
The Aviocar
Sounds like
Twin Garrett turboprops — a high, raspy whine spotters can pick out of a crowd
One might be overhead right now.
Bogey turns the The Aviocar from a dot in the sky into a card in your logbook.
