Mini-Review: Flight1 Pilatus PC-12

I have been checking out the Pilatus PC-12 add-on from Flight1 lately. It is a rather unique bird in some respects -- a pressurized, single-engine turboprop capable of seating up to nine. It is intended for economical corporate or even regional airline short-haul operations. Wikipedia has a nice writeup of the plane with additional details.

First, let us start off with a couple of exterior views of our specimen. Here is a daytime shot in heavy rain:



Next, a night shot:



One of the beautiful things about Flight Simulator is that you have the ability to do crazy -- nay, insane -- things that would normally get you killed in real life. For example, I once tried flying the AirTrike Ultralight upside down, just to see if it could be done. In this particular case, we are going to take a flight from the Brazoria County Airport (KLBX) in Angleton, TX to Valley International Airport (KHRL) in Harlingen, TX. Ordinarily, this would be no big deal. However, if you have been following the news lately, you may have noticed that Hurricane Dolly came ashore in the immediate vicinity yesterday. The storm was still well offshore at the time this flight was performed, but the winds and rain were definitely picking up.

The PC-12 climbs effortlessly through 9,000 ft. up toward cruise level of 24,000 ft. as seen here:



I think aspects of the 2D panel are rather well done, such as the glass gauges. Clicking on them brings up a magnified version:



Furthermore, clicking on the OBS brings up another panel allowing you to change the course and heading settings. This minimizes keystrokes and makes life easier while flying.

Here is a daytime shot of the 2D panel:



Here are a few more interior shots, including the virtual cockpit and the radio/navigation stack:





The GPS navigation on the radio panel is very reminiscent of the built-in FSX GPS unit. Which makes perfect sense, as both units are simulated versions of Garmin products. Some of the features on the GPS unit seem a little byzantine to me, but I confess I have not taken much time to fully explore these yet.

My only irritation with this plane is the simulation of the rocker switch governing the altitude and vertical speed settings on the autopilot. This switch does not recognize use of the scroll wheel to increase or decrease the setting, which is almost second nature with these gauges on the planes I fly. Having to click one side of the rocker switch dozens of times to increase or decrease the setting gets really tedious.

Bottom line: this plane reminds me of a single-engine version of a Beech 1900 or King Air, only cooler. It seems a lot like the built-in FSX aircraft on steroids. The price ($33 US) is fairly reasonable as far as payware aircraft go. For a nice GA aircraft, this one is a lot of fun. I can't honestly say too many bad things about it. Another quality product from Flight1.

Rating: ****