Tag Archives: Pilatus

Formation Arrivals

Not really a formation I’m afraid.  I was shooting this PC-12 as it came in to BFI in nice light and a light aircraft was on the approach for the parallel runway.  I almost got both of them in frame but not quite.  However, I liked the shot so here it is.

Kenmore Air Moves to a PC-12

Kenmore Air is well known for operating a fleet of deHavilland Canada floatplanes in the Pacific Northwest.  They do also have a sizeable fleet of land planes too which, up until know has been Cessna based with Caravans being their staple.  However, they have added something new to the fleet in the shape of a Pilatus PC-12.  Not sure what the purpose of this is and whether it is the first of many but I was pleased to catch it on approach not long after they took delivery (or at least announced delivery).

Life Flight PC-12

PC-12s are a common aircraft in the North American aviation scene so this one is nothing special.  Seeing one on approach, albeit in nice light, is not cause for much celebration.  However, it does mean that, with the light on the nose and a prop spinning up front, it is worth dropping the shutter speed and getting some prop blur.  If I try and fail, I haven’t lost a shot of something that I wanted desperately to get and, if it works, it’s a bonus.

Why Not Go For Low Shutter Speeds For Fun

A holiday visit to Paine Field saw that something interesting was heading for departure.  It was unlikely I would get across the field in time to catch it and I didn’t.  However, since I was there, I thought I might as well hang around for a bit and shoot some departures.  There were a few piston types heading out as well as a PC-12.  Since none of them were too important to me, I decided to play with shutter speeds around 1/100th of a second.  With the 500mm, this doesn’t result in a high keeper rate.

It does provide a lot of prop blur which was the point since, with no background, you aren’t getting any sense of speed.  It was more a case of seeing what I could get and having some panning practice.  When looking at the shots on the computer, some of them are clearly junk without much inspection.  Others look okay until you get zoomed in.  A few of them are sharp even zoomed right in and they are the ones that don’t get culled.

Pilatus’ New Toy

There were lots of things I was hoping to see at RIAT but I did get a few that were very pleasant surprises.  Various air forces had business jets showing up and departing throughout the show as dignitaries (or urgent spares) needed to be moved.  The Swiss brought in several jets while I was there but one of them looked a little different.  My first encounter with a PC-24.  To say I was surprised and pleased would be to understate my response!

PC-12 Frenzy

C59F2359.jpgNearly twenty years ago, I made a trip to Switzerland to visit the factory of the Pilatus aircraft company. We were working on their PC-9 turboprop trainer that we had supplied to an export customer. While we were walking through the factory, the fuselages of some early PC-12 utility turboprops were in the jigs. At the time I remember thinking that it was a big investment for a relatively small company and wondering how well the project would go.

C59F2550.jpgCome forward to the present day and the foresight of the management team has been rewarded with an excellent sales record. The original PC-12 sold well and the NG version continued that story. They are currently going through another upgrade cycle. The combination of rugged utility, flexible interior configurations and turboprop efficiency has made the PC-12 a popular aircraft around the world. Strangely, it has been less successful in Europe where single engine IFR ops are more heavily regulated.

C59F2682.jpgIt is not unusual to see a PC-12 at an airport in the U.S. However, San Carlos proved to be slightly more PC-12 heavy than the average. A small airline called Surfair operates from there with a fleet of the Pilatus plane operating to a variety of destinations in California. While we were there, they had a number of movements (plus one that wasn’t a Surfair aircraft). This meant I could get a lot more PC-12 shots for the library and they aren’t all painted the same colors which is a benefit (although some aren’t painted anything other than white!). I could also take some chances with shutter speed to see what I could get. The PC-12 is not a plane you would call pretty but it is a very practical design and one I am always pleased to see. It takes me back to the hangars in the Swiss Alps a long time ago.