Originally Posted by
43Inches
I cant really see any disadvantage to the PC-24 except some strips the Kingair may be better suited to. Modern jet, what extra time does it need to prepare and get under way than a similar sized turbo-prop? Once airborne it will be faster en-route and it doesn't suffer the slow downs of commercial traffic if its operating medical priority. If you are comparing two airliners fair enough, but even then these days a 737 can get airborne not much slower than a dash-8 from start of taxi, most of the delay is just securing the cabin. And as said above the jet will have far better weather avoidance and altitude capabilities, as well as better prioritisation when not on medical priority. Pretty sure a medivac from Broken Hill to Sydney or Melbourne would be noticeably faster in the PC-24 than any turboprop. It also gives the opportunity to fly the patient closer to the specialist, or the specialist to the patient faster and in more comfort to get prepared. BTW the PC-24 is designed for these ops, it's not some 40 year old airframe re-jigged for aeromed.
Again, can't speak to King Airs, but as for 12 vs 24 - the 12NG is exceptionally quick to get going. Only functional test required is the stick pusher, almost everything else is just check that it's in AUTO. 5-6 minutes between doors shut and take-off. 24 at least double that. Loading also signifcantly slower on the 24 - have to remove the back stretcher every time you load or unload, and your primary retrieval isn't going to be on the back stretcher as it's a hard one to access in flight when they arrest. Loader design on the 24 more complex, longer setup and packdown.
Then there's reliability as well, I think the joke going around one section in early PC24 days was along the lines of - What's the speed difference between the PC12 and PC24? 265 knots. Might be improved now, but the 12 is still a mature aeroplane with almost all of the flaws ironed out.
The jets certainly avoid the weather better, but for everything except the far west of NSW - the time savings for patients exist only on paper.