The PC-12 had an unexpected enormous success. It was estimated to sell 200-250 aircraft. Pilatus sold over a 1000 and in years like 2008 2009 the order portfolio was over 120 aircraft per year.
Part of this success was due to its versatility, short field, cargo door, long range etc..The -12 NG has a fly away price that can top 5M USD.
The question is: is there a marketing need for a jet type bigger PC-12? Is an operator available to double the fly away price? What is the real advantage that an operator would have from a jet?
We need to keep in mind that a business jet with short field unpaved runways capabilities has to be designed ruggedized. This would penalize performances and range and material choice. You cannot use too much secondary composite structure if you want to take off and land from gravel.
In my opinion such a design is very difficult to achieve, Pilatus has a good knowledge of rough operations but absolutely no knowledge of business aviation.
In my opinion we may see a -24 certified design not before than 2018. When Pilatus will start to accept orders we will see how many operators will accept the risk. If there will be less than 100 pre-orders in 2015 the program risks to be seriously scrapped.
Pit