PC-12 Getting More Power, New Avionics

Pilatus revealed a next-generation PC-12 featuring a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprop engine and a four-tube Honeywell Apex integrated avionics suite. The Swiss airframer said a program is under way to certify the enhanced version of the aircraft by the end of next year, with deliveries to start immediately afterward. According to Pilatus officials, the Apex avionics package will integrate and automate presentation of flight information, engine monitoring and aircraft configuration with the control and status of pressurization and environmental systems. The 10- by eight-inch liquid-crystal displays will also depict flight and weather data, charts and trip-planning information. The new PC-12 will gain additional climb performance and cruise speed, with a P&WC PT6A-67P providing 15 percent more thermodynamic power than the current PT6A-67B. Other enhancements slated for the new PC-12 include a digital dual-zone environmental control system, fully automatic cabin pressurization control requiring no pilot input, and a fully redundant electric power generation and distribution system to provide redundancy and automatic load-shedding.