Pilatus PC-24

PC-24
PC-24 prototype during its roll-out ceremony
Role Light jet
National origin Switzerland
Manufacturer Pilatus Aircraft
First flight 11 May 2015[1]
Status Under development
Number built Two prototypes[2]
Unit cost
US$9M (projected, 2013)

The Pilatus PC-24 is a twin-engine business jet under development by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland.[3][4]

Development

The PC-24 was designed based on feedback from PC-12 customers, who desired increased range and speed, but wanted to retain the PC-12's ability to use very short runways.[4]

The aircraft was revealed to the public at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva on 21 May 2013. It is to cost about nine million U.S. dollars.[5] It is to compete with Embraer's Phenom 300 and Cessna's Citation CJ4.[4][6]

Pilatus began taking orders for the aircraft in later May 2014. The rollout of the first of three prototypes was on 1 August 2014 (Switzerland's national day) and it was ground tested in February 2015.[7] The aircraft's first flight was on 11 May 2015[8] and first deliveries are expected for 2017.[9]

By EBACE in May 2014, the company had sold 84 production places, each with a $250,000 deposit,[10] representing the first planned three years of production from 2017 to 2019.[11][12]

PC-24 interiors for the Americas are to be completed at Broomfield, Colorado. Pilot and technician training will be performed by FlightSafety International in Dallas, Texas.[13]

Design

The jet will have a range of 3,300 km (2,051 mi) with six passengers and a cruise speed of 786 km/h (488 mph).

It is powered by two tail-mounted Williams FJ44-4A engines, and equipped with a large cargo door as standard equipment. The pressurised in-flight baggage compartment is capable of accepting a standard pallet. Standby power is provided by the main engine(s), not a regular APU.[14]

With a take-off distance of 820 m (2,690 ft) and a landing distance of 770 m (2,526 ft), the PC-24 is intended to be capable of operation from unpaved runways and grass strips.[4][5] According to Pilatus, no other business jet has this ability, which gives the jet access to over 21,000 airports;[6] about twice the number of tarmac airports used by similar sized jets.[14]

The aircraft will be certified for single pilot operation.[4]

Operational history

As of 10 November 2015, Pilatus is not accepting orders for the PC-24 as the jet is sold out until 2019.[15] This, in order to allow the company to focus on testing, certification and fulfil the current orderbook,[16] which includes:[17][18]

This transport-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Name Orders Options
PlaneSense[19][17] 6
Skytech,inc[20] 5
Western Aircraft[18] 5
KCAC Aviation[18] 5
Tempus Aircraft[18] 5
Epps Aviation[18] 5
Pro Star[18] 5
Jetfly[19][15][17] 4
Flying Doctors[21][22][19][17] 3 1
Synerjet Corp.[18] 3
Falcon Aviation Services[19][17] 2
U-Haul International[19][17] 2
Airfix Aviation[15][18] 2
Pilatus Centre SA[18] 2
J.B. Investments[18] 2
Tim Featherby[15] 1
Shoprite[15] 1
Sunseeker Aviation[15] 1
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe[15] 1
Agile Aviation[18] 1
Pilatus Australia[18] 1
Merchant Shipping[18] 1
Central Aviation AG[18] 1
Gratian Anda[18] 1
PC12 Center de Mexico[18] 1
OK Business Aircraft[18] 1
Private buyers[18] 16
Total[12] 83 1

Potential customers include the Swiss Air Force, which intends to use the jet as executive transport for the Swiss Federal Council.[23][24]

Specifications (PC-24)

Data from Manufacturer[25]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

References

  1. "20 Minuten - Schweizer Jet PC-24 hat den Erstflug absolviert - News". 20 Minuten. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  2. "BAZL - Luftfahrzeugregister". admin.ch. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. Whitfield, Bethany (4 April 2013). "Pilatus to Reveal PC-24 Jet at EBACE". Flying. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Grady, Mary (21 May 2013). "Pilatus Introduces PC-24 TwinJet". AVweb. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  5. 1 2 Sarsfield, Kate (21 May 2013). "EBACE: Pilatus joins the Jet Set with PC-24". Flightglobal. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  6. 1 2 Whyte, Alasdair (22 May 2013). "The Pilatus PC-24 versus the Cessna Citation CJ4 and the Embraer Phenom 300". Corporate Jet Investor. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
  7. Perry, Dominic (19 February 2015), "market", Flightglobal (Reed Business Information), retrieved 21 February 2015
  8. Trautvetter, Chad (11 May 2015). "Pilatus Jets into the Future with PC-24 First Flight". Aviation International News. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  9. Niles, Russ (18 May 2014). "Pilatus Opens Order Book On Jet". AVweb. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  10. Trautvetter, Chad (22 May 2014). "Waiting Line for Pilatus PC-24 Extends to 2020". Aviation International News. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  11. Bellamy, Woodrow III. "Pilatus Debuts First PC-24" Aviation Today, 4 August 2014. Accessed: 8 September 2014.
  12. 1 2 Huge Success for the PC-24: 84 Aircraft Sold
  13. Huber, Mark (22 October 2014). "Pilatus Gears Up for PC-24". Aviation International News. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Patrick Veillette. "Pilatus Designs The PC-24 To Do Everything" AviationWeek, 26 October 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Jetfly puts its faith in PC-24 with four orders to widen fractional network". 9 June 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  16. "PC-24 Gets Off to a Flying Start". Aviation International News. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "PILATUS SIGNS FIRST PC-24 SALES CONTRACTS WITH PRESTIGIOUS FLEET CUSTOMERS AT EBACE 2014" (PDF). Pilatus. 20 May 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Berend Jan Floor (30 May 2014). "Pilatus PC-24 al een succes voordat het één vlucht gemaakt heeft" (in Dutch). AirOnline.nl. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 Thurber, Matt (20 May 2014). "Pilatus Welcomes Flood of PC-24 Orders On First Day of EBACE". Aviation International News. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  20. "Skytech Inc. At EBACE for PC-24 Order Book Launch". Skytech,inc.com. 28 May 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  21. "RFDS orders another Pilatus PC-24". AustralianFlying.com.au. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  22. Kelly, Emma (24 February 2015), "Pilatus displays "super versatile" PC-24", Flightglobal (Reed Business Information), retrieved 25 February 2015
  23. "20 Minuten - Ueli Maurer darf Pilatus-Jet kaufen - News". 20 Minuten (in German). Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  24. Raths, Olivia (1 August 2014). "Der PC-24 von Pilatus wird der neue Bundesratsjet". Der Bund (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  25. "Pilatus Aircraft PC-24 Fact Sheet" (PDF). Pilatus Aircraft. 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rising Stars: 5 Planes That Will Change Aviation - Pilatus PC-24". Flying (magazine). 16 July 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2015.

External links

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