RFDS Pilatus PC24
 

Be good to see it for real!👍

The first one will arrive in Perth on December 3rd after touching down in Broome the day before.

Was just speaking to a PC 24 driver today actually, it's rather slow, thought it might have been faster. Wil be interesting how it operates with the distances Australia has between major cities:-)

Compared to other a/c able to operate out of 2,930 feet (893 m) unpaved surfaces, (max) cruising at 440 ktas is pretty fast :)

400kts typical, anything above that uses too much gas he says. The short RWY ability comes at a cost. High DA Alt's, terrain, surface type, gross weight etc extend considerably the T/Off dist. Short range when considering the size of Oz. Will be keen to find out real world figures not just the propaganda we read about, salesmen stuff:-)

They give the range at 2000nm at FL450 so more like 700nm each way maximum unless refueling is available.In WA it could be fairly limiting...They really do not want to have to stop on the way. Also it is often better to restrict altitude to keep the cabin altitude low so that could be a major problem though they do say Cabin AZlt of sea level at FL230. It is a beautiful looking plane though.

So which other jet do you see doing dirt/gravel in Australia? Seems pretty good to me.

Personally, and while it might be approved for it, I cannot see it doing unsealed airstrips at all. It'd be more typically used for your "long haul" type flights i.e. Broome, Kununurra to Perth (as well as Cocos, Christmas Island - weather permitting). I think there'll still be plenty of demand for the PC12's for the foreseeable future...

Not too many remote dirt strips kept good enuf for this type of jet operation, a few but the list would be short. As mentioned SL cabin needed at times, a strong H/W component all means at times it's a very limited machine. Advantages would be the cargo door & it's ability under limiting certain conditions are it's main advantages.
Looked at applying for the gig when they where looking for drivers but there would be a few toes trodden on to get there, I don't do that.
The PC12 (B200 better) is the backbone of the Air Ambo Ops, the jet being added was a political thing to some degree, a must have at all costs !

Back in the 80s I operated C550s for 10 years into gravel, grass, dirt all over Qld and NSW and at an AFM reduced weight of 5700kg, We watched our fuel and pax loads and did a lot of re-calculating in flight.
Had a lot of problems with "operational control" and getting a signature on the Flight Plan at some briefing offices was difficult.
"what? you want to take a jet outside controlled airspace and into a grass strip, you can't do that" was a not an uncommon comment when flight planning.
Even landing at Archerfield for inspections was a problem initially.

I can see it being used
But having operated the C550, B200 and B350, I would have thought that the King Airs would still be more suitable.

Personally, I'm not bagging it at all, I just don't see it being required for unsealed runway ops, but definitely see a (long overdue) need for it from larger regional locations which have more suitable aerodromes. Also, I'm pleased to see the organisation moving on from the current RFDS "jet operator" who some might say has milked the RFDS very well...

They are called opinions!!

ATPL required?
 

Does the pilot need an ATPL?

The media pictures to date don't seem to show a cargo door, which is mentioned above... has a cargo door being fitted?

It would be standard RFDS twin engine endorsed pay conditions, but the PC24 pilots will get an endorsement paid for them, plus an extra $20-30k on their pay packet for the specialist type I'm guessing.

Haha! Silly RFDS, they obviously didn't do their research thoroughly before committing to this aircraft. 10 minutes on pprune would have been time well spent and alerted them to all the flaws and limitiations of this plane. What were they thinking.... :-)

Around $160K was what I was told for SA/NT. Standard PC12 salary plus T & C allowance.

Aaandrogerthat - you're a bit of a dick - sorry to say that, but what experience do you have to make that call?

Zooooooooommmmm........

aaaaaaand---
Must be a lot of stupid people with money about, the original PC-24 order book for the first batch opened and closed in days, the same will happen when the order book is re-opened some time soon. With preferential customers fixed up, earliest delivery dates for a new customer of the company look like somewhere between 2021 and end 2022.
And, comparatively, this aircraft is expensive in it's class.
What other bizjet manufacturer has their capacity sold out, they are even closing Porter production to make a bit more room.
Tootle pip!!

josephetc,
He/she/it was?? Maybe he/she/it should be a little less subtle ---- as is very obvious, his extreme subtlety completely obscured hi/her/its sarcasm/facetiousness.
Tootle pip!!

OK, I know I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I didn't (and still don't) see sarcasm/facetiousness in that post... Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy...

Little smiley at the end is a bit of a clue.

Haha! Lighten up guys! The clue is right here.. "10 minutes on PPRuNe would have been time well spent and alerted them to all the flaws and limitiations of this plane"

The PC-12 was a game changer, and so is the PC-24. Incredible machine

I'll retreat into my burrow now, having been suitably chastised for my feeble attempt at SARCASM... :-)

Saw it today in Dubai. VHVWO.

Found this nice photo @JetPhotos: VH-VWO just before its departure from Switzerland this morning, on its way to warmer climates...https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2126265518.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....f03d48801.jpeg
Seems getting a cargo door in a biz jet isn't that hard.

Seems to be a lot of work.....they say that takes 12 weeks to do for a Citation.,

Not practical to have aeromedical stretcher loading equipment permanently mounted in that single-use front doorway either...

I bet the sticker price on a citation with similar performance would be considerably lower than a PC24. The Cargo door installation time isnt really a factor if you plan ahead.

I only say this as I'm sure RFDS aren't made of money and the savings on modified Citation could be spent elsewhere.

Just my opinion and I'm sure RFDS did the maths.