Pilatus PC-12

The Pilatus PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft manufactured by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland. The main market for the aircraft is corporate transport and regional airliner operators.

As with many other Pilatus aircraft, the PC-12 is powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B turboprop engine. It has a flight crew of one or two pilots, although it is certificated for a single pilot.

History

Pilatus announced the development of the PC-12 at the National Business Aircraft Association's annual convention in October 1989. The first flight of the first of two prototypes took place on 31 May 1991. Certification of the type was originally planned for mid-1991 but a redesign of the wings (the addition of winglets to ensure performance guarantees were met) delayed this. Swiss certification finally took place on 30 March 1994 and FAA approval followed on 15 July 1994.

Versions

The PC-12 is available in the following configurations:

• Nine-seat standard passenger airliner.
• Six-seat executive corporate transport.
• Four-seat passenger/cargo combination.
• All-cargo transport.

There is also a PC-12M (the M stands for multipurpose) version, based on the basic PC-12, but equipped with a more powerful electrical generation system in order to enable the integration of additional power-consuming equipment. This enables the PC-12M to perform special mission tasks such as flight inspection, air ambulance, parachutist dropping, aerial photography and aerial surveillance. This version is marketed in the United States as the PC-12 Eagle military special missions platform.

Users

Most PC-12s are currently used as corporate transports but recent regulatory changes in Australia, Brazil, Canada and the United States have cleared single engine turboprops such as the PC-12 for regional passenger transport operations in those nations. This has opened up a new potential market for the PC-12 as a regional airliner, in order to replace older twin piston-engined aircraft.

More than 500 PC-12s have been sold as of 2004.

Specifications (PC-12)

General Characteristics

• Crew: one or two pilots
• Capacity: up to nine passengers
• Length: 11.40 m (37 ft 5 in)
• Wingspan: 16.23 m (14 ft)
• Height: 4.27 m ( 32 ft 2 in)
• Wing area: 25.8 m² (278 ft²)
• Empty: 2,600 kg (5,720 lb)
• Loaded: kg ( lb)
• Maximum takeoff: 4,500 kg (9,900 lb)
• Powerplant: 1x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67B turboprop, 895 kW (668 hp)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 500 km/h (311 mph)
• Range: 4,187 km (2,617 miles)
• Service ceiling: 9,150 m (30,012 ft)
• Rate of climb: 512 m/min (1,679 ft/min)
• Wing loading: kg/m² ( lb/ft²)
• Power/Mass: kW/kg

Related Content

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Comparable aircraft:

Designation sequence: P-2 - P-3 - PC-6 - PC-7 - PC-9 - PC-11 - PC-12 - PC-21

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