PC-12NG Demonstrations Super-high Plateau Airport Operations | Aviation International News

PC-12NG Demonstrations Super-high Plateau Airport Operations

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

April 17, 2013

To show the PC-12NG single-engine turboprop on the ABACE static display, Pilatus Aircraft production test pilot Beda Rohner flew a long way, beginning at Pilatus headquarters in Stans, Switzerland. The brand-new PC-12NG departed Stans and then stopped in Greece, Egypt, Bahrain, Karachi and Calcutta. But before the airplane landed in Shanghai, the Pilatus crew stopped in Kunming for a unique flight demonstration for a new PC-12 customer.

The purpose of the demonstration was to show how the PC-12NG could carry a full payload, in this case 2,200 pounds that included Rohner, Chinese navigator Jack Li and four passengers (including two CAAC officials) when flying from Diqing Airport in Shangri-La. The airport is known as a “super-high plateau airport” and is one of the highest in the world, at its elevation of 10,787 feet (3,288 meters). The flight also was intended to demonstrate the safety and reliability of the PC-12 to the Kunming-based customer, who has ordered two PC-12NGs for charter, aeromedical and sightseeing use.

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