Start here
A few places to begin, from the aircraft’s story to the people who fly it.
Meet the aircraft
Pilatus designed the PC-12 for business and utility transport. A low wing, retractable gear, rear cargo door and single Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprop support executive, regional-service and air-ambulance roles.
Aircraft background
Wikipedia contributors · Read more ↗A quieter journey, with a surprising stick-pusher demonstration
Horne’s introduction to the NGX combined a travelling day with demonstrations of its new systems. The electronic engine controls simplified the start, while the lower propeller-speed setting made the cabin quieter without an observed speed change on that flight. At North Platte, a visual-approach display helped lay out the arrival before the group stopped for lunch.
AOPA Pilot · February 2020. PC-12 NGX demonstration from Denver to North Platte and back, with Jed Johnson and Tom Aniello.
AOPA Pilot · Read more ↗Build a cockpit for the earlier PC-12/47
Thranda’s X-Plane 12 package describes the PT6A-67B-powered PC-12/47, with a configurable instrument panel and support for separately supplied RealityXP navigators. Instruments can be moved between panel positions and saved as presets. This is a different represented configuration from the NGX in MSFS 2024.
Pilatus PC-12 NGX · Thranda · X-Plane 12
Thranda · Read more ↗Into the cockpit
YouTube Levaero Aviation · 3 min ·
Pilatus PC-12 NGX Cockpit Tour
Levaero gives a tour of the PC-12 NGX cockpit.
Real aircraft · Pilatus PC-12 NGX
Watch on YouTube ↗Preview images are served by AirframeDB. Videos open on YouTube only when you choose to watch.
Meet Pilatus PC-12 NGX
Pilatus designed the PC-12 for business and utility transport. A low wing, retractable gear, rear cargo door and single Pratt & Whitney Canada turboprop support executive, regional-service and air-ambulance roles.
The NGX is a later development with updated engine management and cockpit equipment. Earlier PC-12 aircraft have different systems and performance specifications.
Pilatus PC-12 NGX
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Development milestones
The 31 May 1991 first-flight date belongs to the original PC-12 family. The NGX is a much later development.
Wikipedia contributors · Pilatus PC-12 ↗Clarifies the family milestone in the linked PC-12 history
The NGX programme before its public unveiling
Pilatus’s programme account dates the NGX’s first flight to 21 December 2017, nearly two years before its public unveiling in Las Vegas on 21 October 2019. Project leader Corné Smith described a team of more than one hundred people working on the development.
Pilatus Aircraft · The next big thing: the new Pilatus PC-12 NGX ↗Manufacturer programme-team recollection
Changes inside and outside the cockpit
The NGX introduced electronic engine control, an autothrottle and a lower propeller-speed mode. Pilatus also described larger cabin windows and redesigned seats and headlining. The development therefore addressed both pilot workload and the passenger experience.
Pilatus Aircraft · The next big thing: the new Pilatus PC-12 NGX ↗Manufacturer description of the October 2019 NGX introduction
Pilot accounts
A quieter journey, with a surprising stick-pusher demonstration
Horne’s introduction to the NGX combined a travelling day with demonstrations of its new systems. The electronic engine controls simplified the start, while the lower propeller-speed setting made the cabin quieter without an observed speed change on that flight. At North Platte, a visual-approach display helped lay out the arrival before the group stopped for lunch.
On the return, Johnson demonstrated the aircraft’s protection systems. The stick pusher surprised Horne enough that he initially pulled against it, a revealing human reaction even for an experienced pilot. His subsequent landing went well despite several years away from the type.
AOPA Pilot · February 2020. PC-12 NGX demonstration from Denver to North Platte and back, with Jed Johnson and Tom Aniello.
Read the full account · AOPA Pilot ↗Learning the new NG among the Swiss mountains
Berendsen began with an evening cockpit briefing at Pilatus before taking the left seat the next morning. Experience with larger business jets made parts of the new avionics familiar, but the flight offered something different: hand-flying through the Swiss mountains, practising landings and visiting several airfields with Alb’s guidance. A stop in Lausanne supplied a welcome lunch break.
He appreciated the navigation display’s help in understanding terrain and changing conditions. The interface also exposed a small but memorable frustration: operating its cursor joystick in turbulence was awkward without somewhere to rest his hand.
Doppeldecker Design. Early PC-12 NG HB-FVC, serial 1001, flown with Pilatus test pilot Michael Alb; this is the 2008 NG, not the later NGX.
Read the full account · Doppeldecker Design ↗A military test pilot’s other cockpit
Rautio’s childhood ambition was to become an astronaut. Skydiving and military flying eventually led him into test work, with much of his career spent in Hornets and Hawks. The PC-12 entered that career when Finland acquired six NGs: he was one of three test pilots sent to Stans for training and acceptance work.
At the time of the interview he had accumulated about 300 hours in the type, fitting its flying around other projects. Later duties included acceptance flights after maintenance or repairs. He valued the aircraft’s handling and modern avionics, and hoped eventually to fly the PC-24 too. His account describes a continuing professional relationship with the NG, rather than a single factory demonstration or an NGX evaluation.
Finnish Air Force PC-12 NG pilot interviewed by Pilatus. Manufacturer-hosted account; the publication date is not established.
Read the full account · Pilatus Aircraft ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2024PC-12 NGX
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
PC-12 NGX
Microsoft Flight Simulator · Released
X-Plane 12Pilatus PC-12 NGX
Thranda · Released
Pilatus PC-12 NGX
Thranda · Released
X-Plane 11 Enhancement Pilatus PC-12 NGX
SimCoders · Released
Pilatus PC-12 NGX
SimCoders · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | 14.4 m (47 ft 3 in) |
| Wingspan | 16.28 m (53 ft 5 in) |
| Height | 4.26 m (14 ft 0 in) |
| Wing area | 25.81 m² (277.8 sq ft) |
| Empty weight | 2,810 kg (6,195 lb) |
| Max takeoff weight | 4,740 kg (10,450 lb) |
| Powerplant | 1 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67P turboprop engine, 890 kW (1,200 shp) |
| Propellers | 4-bladed Hartzell Propeller composite, 2.67 m (8 ft 9 in) diameter composite constant-speed fully-feathering reversible propeller |
| Cruise speed | 528 km/h (328 mph, 285 kn) |
| Stall speed | 124 km/h (77 mph, 67 kn) |
| Range | 3,417 km (2,123 mi, 1,845 nmi) (HSC, VFR Reserves) |
| Service ceiling | 9,144 m (30,000 ft) |
| Rate of climb | 9.75 m/s (1,919 ft/min) |
Manuals & resources
Find your next read
Choose a topic for a short introduction and a link to the original source. Simulator references identify the developer and edition they cover.
Simulator documentation
Build a cockpit for the earlier PC-12/47Pilatus PC-12 NGX · Thranda · X-Plane 12
Thranda’s X-Plane 12 package describes the PT6A-67B-powered PC-12/47, with a configurable instrument panel and support for separately supplied RealityXP navigators. Instruments can be moved between panel positions and saved as presets. This is a different represented configuration from the NGX in MSFS 2024.
Gathered developer listing and version 1.0.1 aircraft-description correction
Thranda · Read the source ↗The tablet connects loading, equipment and systemsPilatus PC-12 NGX · Thranda · X-Plane 12
The PC-12’s EFB includes individual-seat loading, centre-of-gravity plotting, paint customisation and engine-mode options. Thranda also documents an electrical model with bus-tie breakers, standby and non-essential buses, external power and failures, plus shaker/pusher logic. These are published simulator features, with their controls described in the package documentation.
Thranda’s documented X-Plane 12 feature scope
Thranda · Read the source ↗An expansion for Carenado’s X-Plane 11 PC-12Pilatus PC-12 NGX · SimCoders · X-Plane 11
SimCoders requires the Carenado X-Plane 11 PC-12 for this REP. Its engine additions include custom temperature evolution, throttle response, propeller-governor behaviour and hot starts. A maintenance interface, walkaround and saved battery and engine condition add continuity between flights. This listing does not establish compatibility with Thranda’s newer PC-12.
Gathered SimCoders product page · X-Plane 11 requirement
SimCoders · Read the source ↗Pilot account
A quieter journey, with a surprising stick-pusher demonstrationAOPA Pilot · February 2020. PC-12 NGX demonstration from Denver to North Platte and back, with Jed Johnson and Tom Aniello.
Horne’s introduction to the NGX combined a travelling day with demonstrations of its new systems. The electronic engine controls simplified the start, while the lower propeller-speed setting made the cabin quieter without an observed speed change on that flight. At North Platte, a visual-approach display helped lay out the arrival before the group stopped for lunch. On the return, Johnson demonstrated the aircraft’s protection systems.
Thomas A. Horne
AOPA Pilot · Read the source ↗Learning the new NG among the Swiss mountainsDoppeldecker Design. Early PC-12 NG HB-FVC, serial 1001, flown with Pilatus test pilot Michael Alb; this is the 2008 NG, not the later NGX.
Berendsen began with an evening cockpit briefing at Pilatus before taking the left seat the next morning. Experience with larger business jets made parts of the new avionics familiar, but the flight offered something different: hand-flying through the Swiss mountains, practising landings and visiting several airfields with Alb’s guidance. A stop in Lausanne supplied a welcome lunch break. He appreciated the navigation display’s help in understanding terrain and changing conditions.
J. Peter Berendsen
Doppeldecker Design · Read the source ↗Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft manualsMicrosoft / aircraft developersAircraft background
Pilatus PC-12Wikipedia contributors · Research background · Wikipedia revision 1369886263 · retrieved 2026-09-12 The next big thing: the new Pilatus PC-12 NGXPilatus Aircraft · Programme-team interviews following the October 2019 unveilingResource
MSFS 2024 FAQ and edition aircraft inventoryMicrosoftProduct
Pilatus PC-12 DGS SeriesThranda · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12 Reality Expansion Pack · Carenado Pilatus PC12SimCoders · Official developer / designated store catalogue · checked 2026-09-12Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Built-in force-feedback profiles
Read the documentary basis, editable starting settings and remaining questions for the aircraft you fly. Each explanation refers to the exact profile revision shown.
Catalogue programme-20261022-v1 · 8 profile choices
SimWorks Studios PC-12 Legacy
SimWorks Studios · Free and Pro · Revision 4 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024
SimWorks Studios PC-12 Legacy: Mechanical primary controls motivate aerodynamic yoke loading.
Thranda PC-12
Thranda · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
Thranda PC-12: Mechanical primary controls motivate aerodynamic yoke loading.
Pilatus PC-12 NGX
Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Review pending
MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12 · X-Plane 11
Pilatus PC-12 NGX: Mechanical primary controls motivate aerodynamic yoke loading.
Carenado PC12 (MSFS)
Carenado · Free and Pro · Revision 3 · Inherited starting point
MSFS 2020
A pressurised single turboprop with a large cargo door and a broad range of working roles.
Carenado PC12 (X-Plane)
Carenado · Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
X-Plane 11
A pressurised single turboprop with a large cargo door and a broad range of working roles.
Michael Sgier PC-12 classic
Michael Sgier · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
A pressurised single turboprop with a large cargo door and a broad range of working roles.
Michael Sgier PC-12 NG / G1000
Michael Sgier · Free and Pro · Revision 2 · Inherited starting point
X-Plane 12
A pressurised single turboprop with a large cargo door and a broad range of working roles.
Pilatus PC-12 Legacy
Free and Pro · Revision 1 · Partial review
MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024 · X-Plane 12
A pressurised single turboprop with a large cargo door and a broad range of working roles.
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