Pilatus Aircraft plans to re-open the orderbook for its PC-24 on or before next year’s National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference in Orlando, and deliver the last of the super-light business jets from the first batch of orders in early 2020.
The Swiss airframer launched the seven-seat twin at EBACE four years ago and sold the initial production run of 84 units within 36h of the orderbook opening.
The three aircraft in the certification programme – including the first production-series example, P03, which is on display at EBACE – have notched up more than 1,500h of flight testing and the aircraft is on track for certification and service entry in the fourth quarter.
Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk says the PC-24 remains very popular with existing customers looking to boost their order, but it has also attracted interest from special missions and military markets.
“We have a waiting list,” says Schwenk, “and we will re-open the orderbook after we have published the aircraft’s final performance data, and assessed the feedback from our PC-24 operators.”
Schwenk remains tight-lipped on the number of customers waiting for the PC-24 but his expectations for the programme are high. “The aircraft will be the best in its class. We plan to produce 4,000 units throughout its 40-year lifecycle,” he says.
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Source: Flight International
