Physics always wins out in the end!

That darn squared of speed sucks.

Andrew

I also use the joystick, while on the ground, loading flight plans so my hand isn't going back and forth between the keypad and CCD, the stick isn't bad once you get the hang of it.


XM radio up front would be nice! I download a bunch of tunes to my iphone and bluetooth to the headsets - pretty much just as good.



I'm kinda embarrassed to say, we just installed SVS to take advantage of some deductions while tax rates are higher. However, I've also done dumber things in my life.

My justification is that aside from the electric landing gear, the only major differences in my plane and the new ones are the 5 blade prop, SVS, and $1.4m; so we just added a 5 blade Hartzell and SVS. I hope to get some or all of that investment back when I sell.

It’s a phenomenal bird. No doubt. For what it does. Unsurpassed. Sorta like watching a sand hill crane Fly. Problem is I’m an old dove hunter. Ever try to hit one going downwind?

It’s like JC and getting defensive of his PC. Because he’s really a jet pilot at heart. He’ll get there. The Pen’s got too much cargo, too much peeing, surfboards, stuff like that.
I’d rather stick needles in my eyes than Fly 260 kts for 3 mil. 3 hrs I’d better be half way across the country going west.

Of course, as always, YMMV

I feel like doing it sometimes. The problem is..... just like outfitting your home with Italian Porcelain Tile instead of the cheap Chinese stuff, the next owner won't want to pay up for it.

I think the PC12 is fast enough for what it does. Getting it to the magic 300 number would only be an increase of just over 10%. Considering the additional costs and lost operating economics, I don't see where making it a wee bit faster is going to add appeal. It has a long range, hauls more than anything like it, and has tons of room inside. What more would you want (besides a second engine )? If you want something faster, buy a jet.

From my experience and others I have spoken with, a good working number for MX would be about $50k annually. It might range from $30k in one year to $75K in the next but assume about $50k averaged across three years and you are not likely to be shocked.

This number does not include avionics "insurance", engine/prop reserves, wing demate or certain large hourly items like trim actuator.

For that you will get a plane that you can assume will dispatch 100% of the time, and fly safely to your destination in just about any weather conditions when commercial operations are launching.

I'm a happy PC-12 owner but I would argue that at 100 hours utilization per year, there are better options unless your mission absolutely calls for "big cabin / go far / land short".

My current usage is nearly all business related (so I get the benefit of capital depreciation), eastern seaboard, often 1100 nm flights, transporting 4-5 (often) with total hours/year of about 350. So, for me, this financial profile works. For owner-operators, running lower hours/distances, there are more economical (and faster) options.

I try to explain the plane this way: When you buy into PC-12, you buy into an operating philosophy. This (Swiss) philosophy says, "you get a uniquely capable, comfortable and flexible aircraft, with maintenance strictures that are focused on reliability and safety. For this, you will pay. You will pay when you buy the plane (high capital cost) and you will pay when you maintain it (high maintenance costs at our designated maintenance centers and low-hour TBO on an expensive engine)."

Where do you save compared to a legacy jet? A little bit on operating costs (on a per mile basis) but with Jet-A at historically low costs and going down, especially if you fly to CAA served FBOs, this is not such a big contributor to costs. You also save some in training costs (transition is 1 week, not 2-3 and recurrents are 2-3 days). Potentially, you will also save when it comes time to sell, provided the Pilatus continues to retain its historically high resale values.

Im surprised it took this long to start a PC12 thread.

Im a corporate pilot in a unique situation. We have a part 91 department with every model of PC12. We have a straight 45, straight 47 and the 47E (NG). I fly all three models and can give a pretty good overview of them. I primarily spend time in the 45 and NG. We bought all of our aircraft new and the highest time on is approaching 3,000 hours. Let me know if I can help...

one other thing I love about the pc12... big windows, great visibility.

True Story!

I have XM through our audio/dvd system.........not problem, even got the remote sitting right by me.




And so you should be........what was the one thing we agreed NOT TO DO.........but there you go, ensuring that one dummy in the whole Pilatus fleet is willing to spend a damn TESLA on SV that you could get for a buck fifty on an iPad app...........

Thanks Norm that sounds about right. The capability I was looking for over the Conquest I is range and cabin size but I don't think I'm ready for the additional expense especially given my low utilization. Appreciate the insight.

Please Explain.

I tried to get XM installed and they said it wouldn't play through the radio the way the Garmin does so I squashed it.

Please Explain.

I tried to get XM installed and they said it wouldn't play through the radio the way the Garmin does so I squashed it.

I have this too but how do you get it to play through the headsets?

You are gonna sell that Tesla and buy SV as soon as you ride with me into TEX.

FF SV is a nice toy.