Pilatus PC-12NG Deliveries Rise 30 Percent

Pilatus Aircraft recently reported revenue of 821 million Swiss francs ($824.5 million) and 89 million Swiss francs ($89.4 million) in earnings after deduction of 101 million Swiss francs ($101.4 million) for research and development expenses last year. Backlog at the end of 2016 stood at $1.7 billion Swiss francs ($1.71 billion), not including the 84 PC-24s on the order book (the company stopped taking orders after signing sales contracts for the first two years of production).

While overall revenues were down by about 300 million Swiss francs ($301.3 million), those at the general aviation segment increased from 344.2 million Swiss francs ($344.7 million) in 2015 to 457 million Swiss francs ($458.9 million) last year, thanks to a 30 percent increase in PC-12NG deliveries, to 91. Notably, the general-aviation unit accounted for 55.6 percent of total revenues at the company—its largest share since 2012, Pilatus said.

Meanwhile, the Swiss aircraft manufacturer said its PC-24 jet program is on track for European Aviation Safety Agency and Federal Aviation Administration certification, as well as first deliveries, by year-end. The three PC-24 prototypes have flown 1,500 hours to date. Series production of the twinjet is already underway at the company’s headquarters in Stans, it added.

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Deliveries are set to begin in 2017 on a model our reviewer considers peerless.

“The current year will take us into the decisive phase of the PC-24 development program,” said Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk. “Our goal for 2017 is certification in the fouth quarter, followed by the first customer delivery immediately thereafter.”