Pilatus Aircraft Ltd chose the Swiss National Day, 1 August, to unveil its brand-new PC-24 'Super Versatile' jet at its home airfield of Buochs in central Switzerland. Featuring Honeywell's upgraded Apex cockpit suite, including four of Barco's lightweight 12'' DU-1200 displays, the new jet offers the short, soft field versatility of the PC-12, the cabin volume of a midsize aircraft and the cruise speed of a light jet in an eye-catchingly elegant, Swiss-style design.

Workhorse flying high
Aircraft manufacturer Pilatus had pulled out all the stops for the première of this brand-new plane. A team of 24 horses, chosen to symbolize the number appearing in the PC-24 product name and its future mission profile as a 'workhorse', pulled the first prototype out of the production halls. The new business jet
 came to rest on a giant Swiss flag, in front of a grandstand with 1,000 VIPs and over 30,000 spectators. The spectacle was preceded by a fly-by of all the Pilatus aircraft that ever reached production in the company's 75 year's history, including the PC-12 and PC-21 airplanes that both feature Barco displays.

Versatile and rugged
The 100% newly developed PC-24 is the world's first-ever business jet to come equipped as standard with a cargo door. Powered by dual Williams FJ44-4A engines, the aircraft features a Honeywell cockpit suite for business aircraft, which is fitted with Barco's lightest 12" display possible. The tailor-made DU-1200 display is a variant of the Barco FDU-2108 range specifically designed for the Apex cockpit suite DU-1200. Launched in June 2013, it weighs only 2 kg (about half the weight of the display's predecessors), which marks a major breakthrough in cockpit display design.

The maiden flight of the first PC-24 prototype will take place in spring 2015. Final certification and start of deliveries to customers are planned from 2017.

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