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Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. unveiled a mock-up of its clean sheet PC-24 business jet earlier today at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exposition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Stan Kuliavas, director of sales for Pilatus Centre Canada, was on hand at EBACE for the unveiling. He told Canadian Skies that hundreds of people packed the Pilatus booth, as well as other nearby trade show booths, to get a glimpse of the new aircraft.
We had an all-day training session on Monday about the PC-24, where we were briefed on it for the first time, said Kuliavas. But then to see hundreds of people and media gathered around the Pilatus booth today, right when the show opened – you could sense the anticipation building. And then when (Pilatus chairman) Oscar Schwenk made his speech, he gave away a performance number here and there. You could see people immediately texting and talking, and scribbling things down. Finally, when the curtains came down, and the Swiss music was playing, and the smoke was going, it was quite the sight. It was pretty exciting.
Kuliavas said that it was also a proud moment for the Pilatus Canada family because Schwenk singled out this country as being one of two regions where the PC-12 is very popular. Kuliavas said that about 10 per cent of the worldwide PC-12 fleet is operated by Canadians.
According to Schwenk, the PC-24 was designed around feedback received from PC-12 customers who wanted the same versatile aircraft characteristics with faster and further performance.
“Over 10 years ago, we started asking our PC-12 customers what they would like to see in the next Pilatus aircraft, said the chairman in his speech at EBACE. The answers were always the same: Further and faster – whilst retaining the much appreciated strengths of the PC-12, such as the ability to use very short runways. It was a huge challenge for our development team! We are all the more proud to be able to unveil an aircraft with exactly those qualities today: the PC-24.”
The PC-24 is the first business jet with the ability to use very short runways, paved or unpaved, with a cargo door as standard. The jet also boasts an enviably spacious cabin which can be configured to individual requirements.
Kuliavas noted that available configurations will include an executive 6, an executive 8, and a 10-seat commuter option, or any possible combination of passengers and cargo. The PC-24’s ample 90-cubic-foot baggage area will be loaded through a large cargo door, similar to that on the PC-12, with baggage also accessible from the interior during flight.
I saw the mock-up for the first time myself today, said Kuliavas. The roomy cabin has a flat floor, which makes it an ideal executive flying boardroom, and at the same time it can convert to a commuter 10 or a medevac interior with up to three beds.
The PC-24 reaches a maximum speed of ~425 knots (787 km/h). The maximum range with four passengers is 3,610 kilometres. Powered by two Williams FJ44-4A turbines, the PC-24 will also feature a newly-designed avionics system that Pilatus calls the Advanced Cockpit Environment (ACE), developed to reduce cockpit workload. The Pilatus ACE offers four 12-inch screens, a synthetic vision system, TCAS II, IRS, LVP and the option to complete flight planning procedures on the screen itself, in graphical form. The aircraft will be single pilot certified.
The PC-24 will build on Pilatus’ reputation for building versatile and dependable aircraft, said Kuliavas. With a price tag of $8.9 million (in 2017 dollars), the PC-24 is an aircraft that has been designed not to be babied. It has dual-wheel, low pressure tires that allow it to get in and out of strips that no other business jet in the world can. You can imagine the number of northern Canadian mining and work site strips that require that kind of aircraft. The PC-24 allows you to get a lot closer to your final destination – I know that that’s a big marketing push in business aviation; but within this niche, the PC-24 really shines.
The PC-24 is expected to take off on its maiden flight towards the end of 2014, with type certification and first deliveries in 2017.
