Press Release - New Dealer

Pilatus Aircraft is delighted to announce that it has selected Pro-Star Aviation of Londonderry, New Hampshire as its new dealership for the northeastern United States. Pro-Star Aviation is part of a well established group of aviation companies with significant experience operating in and around the territory. The new dealership will be responsible for sales, marketing and service of the PC-12 NG in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Michigan.

Speaking from Pilatus Business Aircraft in Broomfield, Colorado, Thomas Bosshard, CEO commented: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome Pro-Star Aviation to the Pilatus family. The selection process allowed us to examine a number of candidates in great detail and we were very impressed by the overall quality of potential suitors. However in the end Pro-Star Aviation’s exceptional personnel in addition to their turbine aircraft expertise proved to be the right match to sell, service and support the world’s best selling business turboprop.”

With strategic locations throughout the northeast including Caldwell, New Jersey and Portland, Maine, Pro-Star Aviation will promote and invigorate PC-12 NG sales to build further brand awareness in the region. Henry Laughlin, President of Pro-Star Aviation commented: “The team at Pro-Star Aviation welcomes the opportunity to work closely with one of the world’s great aircraft manufacturers. It is our absolute intention to provide service excellence in all operational aspects of our Pilatus Center and we look forward to a long mutually beneficial relationship.”

Pro-Star Pilatus Center will focus on sales and service of the PC-12 NG, which features a number of significant improvements over its predecessor, including a fully integrated Honeywell Primus Apex avionics system, a completely new cockpit designed by BMW Group Designworks USA, and a more powerful Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engine. As aircraft owners and operators strive to operate as competitively as possible, the PC-12’s versatility and low direct operating costs are more relevant than ever before.

Barco steps up production rate for Honeywell displays

Barco (Kortrijk, Belgium) is increasing production of its KDU dedicated display solution specifically designed for integration into the Honeywell Primus Apex flight deck. This year, Barco schedules a total production of 600 units. By 2010, this figure should have climbed to one thousand displays a year.

http://tinyurl.com/6mmdu2

PC-21 flight test

Flight Global travel to Switzerland to flight test the PC-21. Read about it here: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/12/02/319516/pc-21-flight-test-fast-learner.html

Russian certification for the PC-12 NG

The certification is a commercial breakthrough for the Danish business aviation group Air Alpha, who is the official distributor of the Pilatus PC-12 Next Generation, abbreviated PC-12 NG, in Russia and the Baltic States.
“The certification has been on its way for more than a year, so we are now proud to present it,” said Peter Hoegsberg, Director of Air Alpha Aircraft Sales in Russia.

UK may consider Pilatus PC-21

The UK Ministry of Defence is expected in December to seek expressions of interest from potential suppliers of a new fleet of basic trainers to replace the Royal Air Force's Shorts Tucano T1s. Likely to cover the procurement of 40-50 aircraft, the project will deliver a pivotal element of the formative UK Military Flying Training System (MFTS). Candidates for the deal include the Alenia Aermacchi M-311, Beechcraft T-6 and Pilatus PC-21 - all of which have previously been flight tested by British military personnel - and a possible life-extension and avionics upgrade to the Tucano being pushed by Shorts and Marshall Aerospace.

Flightglobal.com