PILATUS PC-24
The Pilatus PC-24 is a light business jet produced by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. Following the PC-12 single turboprop success, work on the jet project started in 2007 for greater range and speed. Powered by two Williams FJ44 turbofans, the PC-24 kept the rugged airfield capability of the PC-12. The aircraft was introduced on 21 May 2013 and rolled out on 1 August 2014, with the maiden flight on 11 May 2015. The PC-24 received EASA and FAA type certification early December 2017 and the first customer delivery was February 2018.
On 1 August 2014, which is also Switzerland’s national day, P01, the first of the three PC24 prototypes, was rolled out. Each of the three prototypes served different functions in the development programme; P01 is intended for exploring the flight envelope of the type, P02 is mainly for trailing the avionics and autopilot integration, whilst P03 was representative of production aircraft and incorporated improvements made based upon the development work performed with the other two aircraft.
Orders and deliveries
At the May 2014 EBACE, Pilatus sold the initial production run of 84 units 36 hours after orders opened. This first batch of orders were delivered until early 2020. Orders re-opened after publishing the aircraft’s final performance data and assessing operators’ feedback. Throughout its 40-year lifecycle, Pilatus plan to produce 4,000 units.
In May 2019, the PC-24 order book was reopened at the EBACE show, with about 80 delivery positions made available for late 2020 and 2021 deliveries. The demand for the PC-24 remains high with the order book sold out into early 2022.
In January 2021, Pilatus Aircraft
Ltd delivered the 100th PC-24 to Jetfly, which has operated
Pilatus aircraft for over 20 years. With the handover of this PC-24, Jetfly now runs a
Pilatus fleet of 51 aircraft – the largest in Europe. The Pilatus have continued their post-certification on the aircraft with steep approach certification, including for London City airport’s 5.5° approach and short runway, plus certification for gravel and grass runway operations. On the interior side, high-utility 10-seat commuter configuration is now an option, as well as a forward galley which can include a microwave and coffee brewer.
The aircraft is designed to operate from short and rough airstrips and incorporates an advanced wing design, with a large double-slotted flap system to achieve the necessary performance, having a stall speed of only 81 knots at the maximum landing weight.The long-stroke trailing link landing gear smooths out uneven surfaces, the dual-wheel main wheels have 70 psi (4.8 bar) of pressure to prevent sinking in soft surfaces and the wing flaps have a replaceable, abradable surface and shields the high mounted engines from loose debris.
Beyond the propulsion choice, several other unique features were developed for the PC-24; Pilatus and Honeywell cooperatively designed the Advanced Cockpit Environment for the type. This is intended to reduce pilot workload and allows the PC-24 to be single-pilot certified. The avionics system is based on Honeywell Primus Epic 2.
The interior colour schemes of the PC-24 have been designed by BMW Designworks; interiors for the Americas are to be completed at a facility in Broomfield, Colorado, which will be expanded by 50% to cope with the extra demand. At 45,000 feet (14,000 m) and 7,260 kg (16,010 lb), total fuel flow is 850 lb (390 kg) per hour at M0.65 long range cruise or 372 kn (689 km/h), raising to 970 lb (440 kg)/h at its M0.74 high-speed cruise.