This is a great example of why we need more than one kind of airplane! I love the PC12's cabin but it was fine before any changes. I especially like the cockpit. Compared to most potentially owner flown aircraft it's more comfortable. That's really my issue with most airplanes that are useful for long distance transportation - the focus is on the folks who turn right at the door. Which makes sense of course because usually it's those people who are paying the bills. But they aren't on my airplane. For example, my favorite light jet is the Premier. Fantastic cabin. The cockpit comfort sucks. Off the list.

I don't fly with a passel of people like you do. And I don't want to. I only have 2 trips a year when I need all those seats. My long trips have two aboard, my wife has a potty and I have a big bladder so it works. The TBM has come out with some of the same things Pilatus has: autothrottles, upgraded interiors, newer avionics, etc. Not enough to move me to buy a newer one. But if they added higher cruise altitude and/or more speed (beyond 330) that would get my attention.

I think the speed increase on the PC12 will make a bigger difference to buyers than the other additions. Even with a great cabin most people don't want to sit in a plane any longer than they have to.

Just curious if that could withstand the temperatures under the hood....
Not saying it can’t, just curious.

A 1500nm flight in a jet is a long flight too. It’s not like we have the option to teleport yet.

1500 nm is a long flight in the TBM.

I live in Atlanta. Any destination east of the Mississippi is a 2hr flight. If I’m already out west, every destination is a 2 hour flight in the pilatus. It’s just the Kansas, Oklahoma etc. that make flights long for me. 90% of my flights are 2 hours or less.

99% of all Gulfstrream flights are 2 hours or less. Nobody that owns a Gulfstream is flying 1500nm every single flight.

My issue with jet ownership is all my short flights. If you have to fly 1500nm every week you should probably just move. That’s no way to live.

Just curious if that could withstand the temperatures under the hood....
Not saying it can’t, just curious.

The high gloss coating JC, not the cf.
I’ve seen many carbon panels in high end cars where the high gloss finish had yellowed and cracked due to high temps under the hood.

The high gloss coating JC, not the cf.
I’ve seen many carbon panels in high end cars where the high gloss finish had yellowed and cracked due to high temps under the hood.

100% agree. I am now making a 1200 nm flight every month with occasional other 1000+ flights. Those make me want to move to a jet and I had planned to do that this year. But I also need to make a lot of short flights - 30/40 minutes which seem ridiculous in a jet. And I expect the number of short(er) flights to increase. So, I’m biding my time.

The PC 12 would let me do about 5-6 trips a year where I can’t carry enough people now. Not enough to give up the TBM speed advantage. The new one though, is close enough. And, it’s not worth the cost delta between the new price and where I am now. I like flying new/different aircraft. I get bored every few years. But when I do the math, which I keep doing hoping for a different result or insight, I keep coming back to the fact that, for me, I have the best utility knife already.

Were I in your shoes I would be very tempted to get in line for the new PC12, and Penman is so rich he should be paying over list to be first!

You are not buying a piece of fiberglass for $85K. You are buying 18 kts of additional airspeed.

I do too. Also factor in the training time if you switch to jet. If you have to spend 10 days at Simcom...... that's 240 hours. You'd never make that up in 10 years of jet ownership. Of course, I love a new challenge also but. I think a CJ3 would be a bit more to "manage" on a daily basis over the PC12 too. There's nothing to manage on the PC12. I send my service advisor a text and boom it's done.

Some more details on the NGX changes:
- no HSI based on hours - all inspections are based "on condition"
- No more prist
- Emergency Descent Mode
- roll protection mode (flight envelope protection)
- fully reclining seats
- new air distribution system (doing away with the noisy flood fan?)
- 3D audio on the intercom
- new autopilot control panel (that matches the PC24)
- cabin cup holders are deeper!
- New fully loaded price $5.36M!

Lots of small safety improvements here. I hope the new PT6 proves are reliable as the -67P has. These upgrades address many of the prior PC12 accidents; primary loss of control accidents and the big one where the pilot didn't use prist.

Here is an avweb video that has some of these details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=703hfGt5IYg

Shew!

On the good news side..... the market value of mine just went up.

Ok, if these planes are $5 million or so, as someone said, I am almost $5 million short, but for these cup holders, I'll dig deep.

5mm opens up a lot of options in aviation land. I know people love new and all, but that’s a big premium for a minimum performance increase. An old ng with a new cowl and a new coat of paint sounds pretty good....

I didn't know you could drop Garmin into the PC12. Nice panel.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/Bf3_AlGCiK0[/youtube]

It is an interesting price point and exactly what I'd do if I were Pilatus. They must read these forums.

PC12 competes very well against the VLJ market. Not as fast but all the amenities and range and load of a midsize jet. A new CJ3+ is $7.2MM. Anything smaller is still $5MM. A new XLS is $15MM?

Yes, $5.3MM is a lot but it's still a lot of plane for the $$ if you're talking "new".