Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008 - (Page 72)

BUSINESS AVIATION FA R N B O R O U G H 2 0 0 8 Exclusivity is the Watchword at New Aviator Hotel Here Although Farnborough’s brand-new Aviator Hotel opened its doors on July 1, the bedrooms, suites and facilities won’t be available to the general public until the day after the airshow concludes on July 21. The only people who will be staying there during Farnborough 2008 are selected guests. At Farnborough show time two years ago final planning permission to build the hotel was awaited, with a deadline for its doors to open in September 2008, even though this would mean missing out on a bumper business week generated by the biennial airshow. Last year the hotel opening date was brought forward to July 1, 2008, and an insider claimed that 80 rooms had been booked for the duration of the show by a certain British aero engine manufacturer based in Derby. I telephoned the hotel operator Dakota Hotels to ask if they had any more rooms available for Farnborough 2008? “Sorry,” I was told, “We’re fully booked during airshow week.” Then my contact told me that the hotel wouldn’t be ready until after the show and that the company from Derby wasn’t best pleased. Recently an Aviator spokesman told Show News that his company never had any doubts that it would open on time, but “forgot” to tell me that I couldn’t actually stay there until the July 21. Owned by TAG Aviation, and managed by McCulloch Unique Hotels founded by Ken McCulloch, creator of Malmaison and Dakota Hotels, The Aviator is sited on the A325 Farnborough Road, will be very convenient for exhibitors (in future years) and overnighting flight crews. It has 169 rooms, many with views over the business aviation airport, and 19 ‘sky studio suites’ ranging from GBP 185 to 295 a night inclusive of VAT. —Mike Vines The Aviator boasts “aerospace”styling outside. Pilatus Certifies the PC-12NG, Delivers 22 Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft company EASA-certificated its Pilatus PC-12NG on March 28, and since then has delivered 22 aircraft. Production switched from the legacy PC-12 to the NG in April after 788 of the older model had been delivered since production started in 1994. The problem is that the new aircraft is proving so popular, if you could order one today you wouldn’t get it until after 2010. Pilatus says that there is a temporary ordering freeze to allow production to catch up. Ninety-two aircraft were produced in 2007, 110 are planned for this year, with a final ramp-up to 120 per year by 2010. “We haven’t yet opened the order book for 2011,” said Pilatus head of sales Fred Muggli. “We are asking customers to check availability with their local Pilatus centers, some of which might have aircraft available, but most of our territories in Europe have sold out until 2010. Business is still hot and nearly every day we are getting potential buyers phoning in, so we are storing them 72 until we open the order book for 2011 deliveries.” So what is it that makes this single-engine turboprop so popular, even with its new 2010 price tag of $3,780,000, which is $43,000 more than today’s price thanks to the weak U.S. Dollar/Swiss Franc exchange rate? Externally the NG is indistinguishable from the PC-12. But under the cowling and inside the aircraft it’s a very different story. The cockpit is where the true revolution has taken place. Gone is the old familiar 1990s instrumentation, replaced by a state of the art fully integrated Honeywell Primus Apex avionics suite that includes four large PFDs and two MFDs, giving unprecedented information for easier single-pilot operation. At the touch of a button, PC-12NG pilots can view integrated digital flight information on screen for the first time. At their fingertips are engine monitoring, aircraft configuration, pressurization and environmental controls. Flight and weather data, charts, aircraft system information and trip planning functions are all within easy reach, while the cockpit designed by The new Pilatus with PT6A-67P engine is already sold out through 2010. BMW Group Designworks USA sets a new standard for ergonomics and aesthetics, says Pilatus. The aircraft now sports a Pratt &Whitney Canada PT6A-67P turboprop which increases climb performance. Couple this with the aircraft’s legendary short field performance, its ability to fly off grass and unprepared strips, and a range of 1,500 nmi with single pilot and three passengers, and you’ve got one of the most versatile aircraft ever built. Its luxury cabin can be outfitted with six to nine very comfortable leather seats or a mix of say four seats and space for rear cargo which can be loaded through the outsize rear door. It’s not uncommon to see a PC-12 owner flying his BMW or Harley motorcycle in the back, while the family sits up front. Another reason for Pilatus’s outsize order book is that commercial air taxi and fractional companies are signing up for large numbers of these aircraft. Dexter Air Taxi of Moscow has already taken delivery of some of the 23 PC-12s it has on order. —Mike Vines July 14, 2008 www.aviationweek.com/shownews http://www.aviationweek.com/shownews

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008

Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008 Contents Thirty More Years CFM Reveals New Engine Boeing Reduces Forecast UAVs’ Quiet Revolution Finmeccanica: U.S. Success A Plethora of AESAs BAE North America Plus L-3 Becomes a Prime Better Late Than Never A Peek Behind the Curtain China’s J-10 Revealed Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner Breaking LM’s Hegemony

Farnborough Show News - July 14, 2008

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