Article from BTNews 24 JULY 2017
1,500th PC-12 handed over
Swiss–based manufacturer Pilatus has handed over the 1,500th PC-12 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (RFDS), a long-standing customer for the model. The aircraft has become a Pilatus bestseller, and is used all over the world.
The single-engine turboprop, complete with special livery, was presented by Pilatus chairman Oscar Schwenk and received by an RFDS delegation headed by central operations director John Lynch.
The anniversary PC-12 had been earmarked for the RFDS as a symbolic thank-you for the service’s longstanding loyalty with Pilatus. On the run-up to the ceremony employee's were invited to write special messages for display on the aircraft.
The flying doctor service was among the first customers to take delivery of a PC-12, in 1994, and currently uses 33 of the aircraft to provide medical assistance to people in remote areas. It carries around 18,000 patients a year, operating in and out of short and unmade bush strips.
Lynch said: “The PC-12 is perfectly tailored to the rigorous conditions in the Australian outback. We appreciate its special characteristics and recognise the indispensable role it plays in enabling us to meet the challenges of our mission.”
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