When it was unveiled in 2013, the Pilatus PC-24 made headlines for being the “Swiss watch of private jets”. Since its introduction in 2018, the PC-24 has seemingly exceeded all expectations!
Much like Pilatus’s previous business jets, the Pilatus PC-24 has been wildly successful, selling hundreds of times in only a few years.
According to Pilatus, the PC-24 is the most versatile jet the company has ever designed, with it not even reaching one tenth of its potential (as of the time of writing!)
Pre-Pilatus PC-24
Over the course of the 1960’s, a number of aircraft manufacturers began to release what are now known as the first business jets, the first jet aircraft tailored specifically to corporate and private buyers, rather than militaries or airlines.
Naturally these early jets were quite successful. However, they were expensive to operate, even by contemporary standards, which made them extremely expensive to operate on very short-haul routes.
By the 1990’s, turboprop technology had progressed far enough that turboprop business jets could be operated reliably and cheaply. As a result, Swiss aircraft manufacturer, Pilatus, released their famed PC-12, which soon became wildly successful!
Although Pilatus was initially skeptical, the PC-12 proved to be a huge success. Over the next few years, Pilatus would interview PC-12 operators, and ask what they liked, and more importantly, what they didn’t like about the aircraft.
Reading through the responses, Pilatus discovered that many operators loved the PC-12’s ruggedness and its ability to takeoff and land on short and unprepared runways, whilst still being quite comfy.
Pilatus also uncovered that many operators wanted the PC-12 to be faster, whilst also having a much longer range. At the same time, they wanted it to keep much of the same positives that the PC-12 had…
Development
Armed with this information, Pilatus began secret development of a complimentary aircraft in 2007. Initially, Pilatus engineers had hoped to make the aircraft a turboprop, however they realized that getting the speed and range they wanted wasn’t possible.
Instead of using a single turboprop engine, Pilatus engineers were forced to use two jet engines mounted at the rear of the fuselage. Whilst this fixed the speed and range issues, it opened an entirely new can of worms…
As a high-cruising jet, much of the jet’s fuselage had to be redesigned in order to be more aerodynamic. However, this redesign caused its own issues in regards to landing and takeoff distances.
To fix this, Pilatus engineers designed the aircraft’s fuselage to fit onto the wing, rather than the wing fitting onto the fuselage. The wing itself was also equipped with a number of mechanisms to help it slow, that are usually only present on large commercial airliners.
Due to this, Pilatus didn’t need to install thrust reversers on the engines. Whilst doing this would reduce the landing distance even more, the engine housing wouldn’t be able to accommodate this due to weight concerns, as such Pilatus never added them on.
Unlike other business jets, the PC-24 doesn’t have winglets, which reduce drag and increase fuel efficiency. Instead, the entire wing of the PC-24 is essentially the winglet, thus negating the need for traditional-style winglets!
Pilatus would develop the Pilatus PC-24 in secret, until they revealed the development of a new business jet in 2011 shareholder’s letter. The mockup of the jet would be unveiled to the public and the press in May 2013.
Service History
Following all of this, the Pilatus PC-24 would first fly on May 11 2015, before entering service with the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia in April 2018. From here, it would go on to have a rather interesting service history…
Flying Hospital
When Pilatus announced the PC-12 in the late 1980’s, the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS) became quite interested in the aircraft, eventually becoming the type’s launch customer in 1994.
Even over 30 years, many of these RFDS PC-12s were still in service, mostly due to their ability to travel across the country, at a relatively fast speed, whilst being able to fly from dirt airstrips in the Australian Outback.
As such, when Pilatus was performing its market research on a potential PC-12 successor, the RFDS gladly submitted its feedback. So when Pilatus announced that they’d developed a jet-powered aircraft based off their suggestions, the RFDS became quite interested…
At the time, the RFDS only had one jet aircraft, the Hawker 800XP, which it had acquired in October 2009. Despite the aircraft being relatively new, the RFDS purchased the PC-24 with the intention of retiring the Hawker 800XP once the PC-24 entered service in 2019.
Configured as a flying hospital, the RFDS operate three PC-24s, which are equipped with everything a doctor would need to save your life whilst in transit from the Outback to an actual hospital.
In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about other organizations similar to the RFDS buying and operating the PC-24, in the same capacity as the RFDS. However, as of yet, there has nothing concrete announced by either parties.
Private Jet
Whilst the first Pilatus PC-24s entered service as flying hospitals, the majority of PC-24s built to date have entered service as private/business jets, for the world’s 1%.
For the most part, these PC-24s are owned by anonymous shell companies, in order to hide their owner’s true identity (a common practice with the owners of private jets).
With that being said, the majority of the PC-24’s operators are corporate operators. This is thanks to the PC-24’s incredibly versatility, which often matches the hugely different tasks the business jet needs to undertake.
Despite this, recent years have seen a number of mildly famous celebrities acquire their own PC-24s. Here, these jets are mostly used because they’re extravagant, yet cheaper to operate than much larger jets!
From what I’ve seen, there are a number of PC-24 operators who don’t solely operate the PC-24. Instead, the PC-24 is used on short-haul, often domestic routes, whilst the operator(s) use a larger jet they also own on longer-haul routes.
Alternatively, these larger jets are employed on shorter-haul routes that the PC-24 would usually fly, when the operator needs to transport more than the eight people the PC-24 can carry!
Charter
Due to the PC-24’s success as both a private and corporate jet, the Pilatus PC-24 has also become quite popular with executive charter airlines, who offer private jet flights on demand.
Today, most of the world’s major executive charter airlines have at least a few PC-24s in their fleet. Many of the ones that don’t, currently have orders for the jet, that have simply not been fulfilled by Pilatus yet.
For the most part, executive charter airlines market the PC-24 as the jet you want to take on short-haul routes between noise restricted, or less than desirable, airports. Alternatively, they market it as the jet you want if you plan on taking a lot of luggage!
To that end, most PC-24s are chartered by companies or high net worth individuals to fly short-haul routes, between two smaller cities, that a turboprop like the PC-12 or Beechcraft King Air simply can’t accommodate.
Despite the PC-24’s official designation as a light jet, most charter airlines tend to use the jet on the same routes that mid-sized jets would, mostly due to the PC-24’s performance being closer to mid-sized jets, whilst being the size of a light jet!
Although it often depends on the charter airline you fly on, route and time of year, it can cost you anywhere from $4,000 per flight hour, to around $5,000 per flight hour to charter the PC-24.
Fractional Ownership
By the same token, it’s not just executive charter airlines that have taken an interest in the Pilatus PC-24. To date, the PC-24 has become quite popular with a number of fractional ownership companies, both in the US and in Europe.
As with their other jets, these fractional ownership companies buy several of them from Pilatus themselves. Then, they sell fractions of them to individual buyers, who can use the jet for a set number of hours per year.
For the most part, the PC-24 has been quite successful in this role, owing to its versatility:
For example, the same jet could be used by one owner to take his family skiing in the Alps, whilst another owner could use it to transport precious antiques, whilst another owner uses it as the quintessential corporate jet!
Today, the cost to acquire a fraction of the jet will naturally differ. Naturally, a 1/8 share will be significantly cheaper than a 1/3 share. As of the time of writing, a 1/3 share currently sells for a little bit more than $3.5 million.
In terms of annual fees (such as management fees, maintenance etc.) these also varying depending on the share, as well as the amount of maintenance the jet has had, as well as the fractional ownership company itself.
With that being said, the current average annual fees for a Pilatus PC-24 hover around the $25,000 mark. Although, some will naturally be cheaper, whilst others are more expensive.
Military
Whilst the PC-24 is most famous for its role as a business/private jet, the jet has become a favorite for militaries. However, currently, the only military operator of the PC-24 is the Swiss Air Force, who operate one PC-24.
Over the course of the late 2000’s and early 2010’s, most of Switzerland’s executive jets, such as its Dassault Falcon 50 and its Learjet 35s, were retired.
Here, they were replaced with newer jets such as the Dassault Falcon 900 and Challenger 604. Whilst these jets are good for transporting large numbers of VIPs over long distances, neither jet are particularly economical on short haul routes.
Knowing this, the Swiss Air Force has acquired the Pilatus PC-24 to transport its political and military leaders on short haul routes. On many routes, the PC-24 can land in places that its counterparts cannot, removing the need for a second flight on a helicopter!
With all that being said, there is a lot of speculation that more militaries will purchase the jet, mostly on short-haul flights or to replace older jets like the Learjet 31 and earlier BAe 125 variants.
Others speculate that the Pilatus PC-24 may be picked up by other militaries as a MEDEVAC aircraft, owing to its ability to land on less than desirably runways- a staple of any modern conflict.
Features
By far the most notable feature of the PC-24 is its cargo door, located in the aft (rear) section of the fuselage. To date, the PC-24 is the only business/private jet to have such a feature, even in light of its small size.
This has been done deliberately by Pilatus, as they’ve designed the jet to be quite versatile. As a part of this versatility, the PC-24 could act as a flying hospital (as mentioned earlier) or as a cargo aircraft (although no PC-24 is currently used as such).
From a side profile, you’d probably notice that the PC-24 has a rather oddly designed wing. This is partly due to it having a rear cargo door, but is also done to aid the PC-24’s STOL abilities.
In order to cruise at such high speeds, but land on short runways, Pilatus had to design the PC-24’s wing more like that of the 777 or 787, than a business jet, giving it a noticeably unique wing and fuselage design!
Despite being classed a light business jet, the PC-24 has a much larger cabin than its competitors, being both longer and wider. As such, it is usually purchased by operators who need the size of a mid-size jet, but the range of a light jet.
As of the time of writing, the Pilatus PC-24 is the only factory-designed business jet that is able to land on gravel and unprepared runways as standard (a number of private/business jets can be modified for this purpose, but this doesn’t come as standard!)
Price
Assuming you had the money, you could buy a brand new PC-24 straight from Pilatus for approximately $10.7 million. Whilst this may seem like a lot, this is actually extremely cheap for a business jet.
Due in part to the PC-24’s price, the PC-24 has proven to be extremely popular. As a result, it may take several years between placing the order for your jet and you actually receiving it.
If you don’t have this time to wait, you could always purchase a second-hand PC-24 off the secondary market. Despite the PC-24’s relatively young age, there are surprisingly a few that are currently for sale…
As of the time of writing, you can purchase a Pilatus PC-24 that’s only a few years old for as little as $9 million. For one that’s less than a year old, however, you could be looking at paying as much as $10 million!
In terms of cost to operate, the PC-24 is surprisingly more expensive to operate than its competition. As of the time of writing, it costs roughly $2,630 per hour to operate, including wages, maintenance, insurance, fuel and other costs.
By comparison, the Pilatus PC-24’s main competitor, the Embraer Phenom 300, costs roughly $1,600 per hour to operate.
Although it varies from charter airline to charter airline, route and time of year, if you were planning on chartering the Pilatus PC-24, you’d be looking at paying between $4,000 and $5,000 per flight hour!
Specifications
| Specifications | Pilatus PC-24 |
|---|---|
| Length | 16.85 m (55 ft 2 in) |
| Wingspan | 17 m (55 ft 9 in) |
| Height | 5.4 m (17 ft 4 in) |
| Crew | 1 – 2 |
| Passengers | 8 |
| Cruise Speed | 815 km/h (506 mph, 440 kn) |
| Range | 3,334 km (2,072 mi, 1,800 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 13,700 m (45,000 ft) |
| MTOW | 8,300 kg (18,300 lb) |
How Safe is The Pilatus PC-24?
When you look at the safest and most dangerous aircraft currently in our skies, we tend to only focus on commercial jets like the A320 or 747. Private jets, on the other hand, are left off these kinds of lists…
Often, this is done deliberately, after all, the laws governing commercial and private jets are substantially different, often varying from country to country and aviation regulator to aviation regulator.
However, if you’re looking to fly on the Pilatus PC-24, you probably want to know how safe and/or dangerous the PC-24 is before you fly on it!
As of the time of writing, the PC-24 has never had a single aviation-related incident, thus making the PC-24 by far one of the safest private jets currently on the market.
With all that being said, the PC-24 is only relatively new. As such, the average jet has a total of 335 hours on its airframe, which still makes it relatively new compared to other jets, meaning that hasn’t had its natural issues yet…
However, looking at the safety records of Pilatus’s previous aircraft, it’s safe to assume that the Pilatus PC-24 will remain as one of the safest private jets you could fly on, even if it does have a few crashes in the future!
What’s it Like to Fly on The Pilatus PC-24?
Over the course of writing this article, I had the good fortune of flying on the PC-24 quite a few times. Prior to flying on the jet, I’d only heard the hype surrounding the PC-24, and I have to admit, I wasn’t buying it… for the most part, I can say that it deserves this hype!
Flying on the jet, one of the first things I noticed was how quickly it took off. For most private jets, it’s a good 25 to 30 seconds between powering up the engines, and taking off. For the PC-24, it was more like ten.
During the flight, it was obvious that comfort was one of the top priorities for the PC-24. Unlike other light jets, the PC-24 had leg rests built into the seat, a feature I have only ever seen on much larger (and more expensive!) jets…
In regards to my favorite thing about the PC-24, it was certainly its internal systems. On other private jets, these systems (such as lights, AC, flight time etc.) are controlled through a tablet physically built into the aircraft itself.
However, on the PC-24, all you need to do is log into a website and sync the jet to your phone! From here, I could be sat in the back of the aircraft, looking at how much longer we’ve got of the flight, or sit and change the lighting!
Another aspect of the jet I liked was the secluded toilet. On most other light jets, the toilet is a physical room, instead only having a curtain for privacy.
The Pilatus PC-24, however, has an intricate little system that allows you to turn the front portion of the aircraft into a mini-bathroom whilst you use it.
With all that being said, the PC-24 was designed to be more rugged than the competition. For me, I found that doing this has caused it to be slightly less comfortable than its competitors, albeit not by that much!
What do you think of the Pilatus PC-24? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Neuwieser via Flickr.