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Tradewind Aviation—the American charter airline and aircraft management provider headquartered at Connecticut’s Waterbury-Oxford Airport (OCX)—accepted delivery of its first Pilatus PC-12 NGX during a ceremonial handover at Pilatus’s U.S. subsidiary in Broomfield, Colorado.

The event occasioned the first of twenty PC-12 NGX deliveries Pilatus will make to Tradewind over the next five years.

Tradewind co-founder and chief marketing officer David Zipkin remarked: “We’re thrilled to take delivery of the first of twenty brand-new PC-12 NGX aircraft. Tradewind is the largest US operator of Pilatus PC-12s for private charter, and these new aircraft will further expand our ability to grow and serve our clients with the very best flight experience. The PC-12 NGX provides the perfect balance of efficiency, comfort, and superior performance for shorter flights and hard-to-reach destinations, allowing our clients to save precious time and focus on what’s most important to them.”

The score of highly-advanced single-engine Swiss turboprops will join Tradewind’s extant fleet of PC-12s, further enhancing the company’s charter operations throughout North America and the islands of the Caribbean.

Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd. president & CEO Thomas Bosshard stated: “The PC-12 continues to lead the industry as the global fleet approaches two-thousand aircraft and ten-million flight hours. The demand remains very strong among new and returning customers looking to upgrade. Our customers, especially fleet and charter operators, value the PC-12 NGX’s reliability, performance and elevated passenger experience. We are pleased to celebrate this ceremonial delivery with Tradewind, and look forward to commemorating their future growth and success.”

Tradewind Aviation co-founder & president Eric Zipkin added: “I am proud of all that the team at Tradewind have been able to accomplish in the past twenty-years. From humble beginnings with a single plane, we have grown to a fleet of 23 and a team of over 220, firmly establishing Tradewind as the leader in so many premium markets, including the Northeast and Caribbean. The continued investment in, and expansion of, our Pilatus fleet is evidence of Tradewind’s continued growth and increased demand for private charter and we are thankful to our loyal guests and team for making this possible.”

The PC-12 NGX derives of Pilatus’s popular PC-12 pressurized, single-engined, turboprop—of which the company has produced over 1800 since 1994. The PC-12NGX improves on its forebear by means of its 1,200-shaft-horsepower PT6E-67XP powerplant, which—in addition to motivating the aircraft to a cruise-speed of 290-knots—features dual-channel, Full-Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The PC-12 NGX’s single power-lever governs both engine power output and propeller RPMs. What’s more, pilots can select a propeller low-speed mode for reduced cabin and over-flight noise.

The PC-12 NGX cockpit features Honeywell avionics with outstanding babysitting functions such as tactile feedback in unusual attitudes, an Emergency Descent Mode (EDM), and a Crew Alerting System (CAS) that automatically populates the aircraft’s Multi-Function-Display (MFD) with electronic checklists the aircraft deems situationally appropriate.

All told, PC-12 NGX pilots will enjoy availing themselves of four ten-inch LCD displays, Honeywell’s SmartView Synthetic Vision System with HUD based performance symbology, an Interactive Navigation (INAV) system, fully-integrated Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), dual Flight Management System (FMS), Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System I/II (TCAS), graphical flight-planning, touch-screen controllers, and a Cursor Control Device (CCD).

PC-12 NGX prices range from $4.39-million to $5.369-million. Typically-equipped executive iterations commanded $5.443-million (2021).

FMI: www.pilatus-aircraft.com