PC-12s at Wilson Air

Wilson Air Center’s Memphis, Tenn. FBO hosted the 13th annual Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association meeting in June, AIN reports. There were 35 PC-12s that made the trip to Memphis for classes on PT6 engine operation and avionics, a one-day PC-12 ground school, product demonstrations and exhibits. “This is a special time to exchange technical and operational requirements while visiting with owners, friends and pilots of the great PC-12,” said Wilson Air Center president, founder and PC-12 pilot and owner Bob Wilson.

Porter Arrives in Nepali Skies

Fifty years after the first Pilatus Porter made the long journey from Switzerland to Nepal, the rugged single-engine aircraft is staging a comeback in the Himalaya. By a happy coincidence, that first aircraft was nicknamed ‘Yeti’, and it is Yeti Airlines that has just taken delivery of two brand new latest model Pilatus Porters to re-open roadless areas of the country. “The Pilatus Porter has a proven record of performance for flying to remote areas of Nepal, it has shown it can do the job anytime and almost anywhere,” says Yeti’s Ang Tshiring Sherpa, “it fits nicely between a helicopter and a Twin Otter and we want to use it to open up the far west.” Yeti Airlines, which flies to more destinations than any other airline in Nepal, bought the two Pilatus Porter PC-6s to extend its reach to airfields which can’t take Twin Otters.

In the past 50 years, Pilatus Porters have been flown by the United Nations, the Swiss development agency and Royal Nepal Airlines. In those years, PC-6 have done just about everything: they have dropped live goats by parachute for mountaineering expeditions, carried text books and vaccines to remote villages in western Nepal, ferried grain to Humla during the 1982 food crisis, flown orange saplings for orchards in Jumla and taken international celebrities for new year parties at Syangboche.

Greenwich AeroGroup Names Jim Ziegler CEO

Greenwich AeroGroup, Inc. named Jim Ziegler as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company. Prior to joining Greenwich AeroGroup, Mr. Ziegler was the COO of Jet Aviation, spent 21 years with Learjet and Bombardier Inc. in various senior executive management roles. “I am extremely excited to join Greenwich AeroGroup,” commented Mr. Ziegler. “They have positioned themselves to be a major player in the aircraft MRO service business with their acquisitions of Atlantic Aero, Western Aircraft, Summit Aviation, and recently announced agreement to acquire Banner Aerospace. The next few years present an enormous opportunity to create a worldwide network to support OEM’s and aircraft operators. I look forward to expanding the business and building a world class team.”

Pilatus Centre UK Opens PC-12 Facility

Pilatus Aircraft's distributor for the UK, Ireland and Spain has opened a PC-12 engineering and flight training facility at Bournemouth International airport in southern England. Pilatus Centre UK has invested £425,000 ($696,000) in upgrading and converting a former Second World War and BAC hangar into a one-stop support centre for new and pre-owned PC-12s.

Seaport Airlines Picked to Fly in Arkansas

SeaPort Airlines of Oregon will provide service to four Arkansas airports if the airline accepts a smaller contract from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Transportation officials have selected SeaPort to provide service from Harrison, Hot Springs, Jonesboro and El Dorado to Memphis on a 9-seat Pilatus PC-12. The airline asked for almost $7.1 million in subsidies for three daily flights from each airport. The Transportation Department has offered about $6 million for 18 flights a week with reduced service on the weekend.

Yeti Airlines to Fly PC-6 in More Remote Places

Yeti Airlines is all set to expand its network by launching flights to remote places in Nepal that are unattended by many airline companies. They will soon start chartered flights to Langtang, Jiri, Dhorpatan and Syangboche. Single-engine aircraft, which have short take-off and landing capability, are vital for airlines serving small airfields located in high altitudes. Pilatus Porter was first used in Nepal in May 1960 to ferry transportation and climbing equipment of Swiss Dhaulagiri Himalaya Expedition. Nepal Airlines Corporation, the state-owned airline company, also used three Pilatus Porters from 1961 to 1998.

Pro Star Delivers its First PC-12 NG

Pilatus announced that its newest PC-12 Sales and Service Center, Pro Star Aviation of Londonderry, New Hampshire, has just completed its first customer delivery of a PC-12 NG. This is an important event for Pro Star as it continues to build on the outstanding success of the world’s best-selling business turboprop.

Beginning in January 2009, Pro Star was awarded the exclusive PC-12 sales and service rights to the northeastern United States. Its territory includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Henry Laughlin, CEO of Pro Star Pilatus Center commented, “We are delighted to deliver our first PC-12 NG to an important New Jersey based customer. We have no doubt the aircraft will perform all mission requirements flawlessly and we are excited to build upon this important company milestone.”

Thomas Bosshard, President and CEO of Pilatus Business Aircraft, Ltd. added, “Pro Star Pilatus Center is a significant new addition to the worldwide PC-12 Sales and Service Network. Current and future PC-12 owners will certainly benefit from their customer-first attitude and their extensive turbine aircraft expertise. Congratulations on the first of what will soon be many great milestones for Pro Star.”

With strategic locations throughout the northeast including Caldwell, New Jersey and Portland, Maine, Pro-Star Pilatus Center is promoting and supporting PC-12 NG sales and service to build further brand awareness in the region.