Pilatus’ popular PC–12NG is the biggest turboprop single on the market, but with a max takeoff weight of 10,450 pounds it’s well below the 12,500-pound threshold that dictates the type rating and annual recurrency requirements for heavier airplanes. Where the FAA doesn’t tread, insurance requirements, safety management systems, and company policies do. In observance of these very wise safety mechanisms, many PC–12 pilots use Pilatus-approved Simcom Training Centers for their pilot initial, recurrent, and transition training needs. A few months ago I sampled Simcom’s two-day Express Recurrent training course at the company’s Orlando, Florida, facility. The two-day course is an answer to customer requests for a more compact review; Simcom also offers a three-day PC–12NG recurrent course in addition to a five-day pilot initial, a five-day PC–12NG transition course, a two-day PC–12NG Apex familiarization course that dwells on avionics, and a two-day advanced refresher course. A similar batch of courses is offered for the pre-2006 PC–12 and PC–12/47 models.
A lot of the focus in the PC–12NG Express Recurrent course is on the ship’s Honeywell Apex avionics suite—a four-screen, feature-rich panel that shares much of the architecture of the Honeywell panels used in today’s Falcon and Gulfstream jets, where they’re dubbed the EASy and PlaneView flight decks, respectively. There’s plenty to know—and for many of us, like me, forget—about the Apex. The recurrent courses are a great way to shake off the cobwebs. Besides, Honeywell will soon release Build 10 of the Apex software, and keeping up with operational changes is a must.
Maybe the Apex is a little too capable. “The biggest problem we see with many pilots coming through the recurrent is a deterioration of basic flying skills,” said instructor Robert Brooks. “A lot of pilots become too dependent on the autopilot.”
This is where Simcom’s simulators come in. The PC–12NG simulator, like many others in the facility, has a great wraparound visual system that features Google Earth terrain representations. It’s so wide-angle that you can fly traffic patterns and see runways while flying the downwind legs. Breakouts from low ceilings on instrument approaches are equally convincing. So practicing basics such as steep turns, slow flight, and stalls comes with some realistic outside views and cues. This simulator is classified as a Level 6 flight training device, according to Simcom. Because this isn’t a full-motion simulator, it can’t be used for credit toward landing currencies or instrument proficiency checks, but instrument approaches do count. For customers who bring their PC–12s to Orlando and then fly them with Simcom instructors for the final signoffs, this is of little concern.
That said, I find that the simulator’s visuals do a good job of instigating somatic responses to attitude changes. If you’re in a turn or dive, your body plays along just as though you were in a real PC–12.
In all, eight hours are spent with a classroom review of systems and procedures, at four hours per day. Then come the simulator sessions—three hours per day. My first session began with the basics that Brooks referred to earlier. Then came a cross-country flight from Orlando International to Miami International, with a side trip to Daytona Beach for the VOR approach to Daytona Beach’s Runway 16 and a DME arc to its ILS Runway 7L. At Miami, I flew the RNAV GPS Runway 9 and ILS Runway 26L approaches—the latter with a missed approach and hold. The Apex’s flight control system, by the way, will fly a missed approach from decision height/MDA through the missed approach climb, enter the hold, and fly the holding pattern. All you have to do is click on the power lever’s GA button, pitch up into the command bars, and add climb power.
The second day involved flying out west. There was a takeoff from Denver International in a snowstorm, followed by an RNAV approach to Steamboat Springs with a missed approach, followed by the LDA approach to Eagle, Colorado’s Runway 25, and then the RNAV F approach to Aspen, Colorado. Owing to the terrain, these were some challenging approaches.
What do you do when the PC–12’s Pratt conks out? Brooks showed me a procedure that, given sufficient altitude, lets you glide the PC–12 to the nearest airport using the autopilot. This is where you better know the Apex pretty darn well, because you only have one shot at an on-airport landing.
Brooks uses the acronym ARICER to help set up the maneuver. “A” is for airport—select guidance to the nearest one using the Nearest key on the lower MFD. “R” stands for runway—pick the runway that’s most aligned with the surface winds. “I” is for intercept, which is a cue to select the heading mode on the auto-pilot’s glareshield control panel so that you can follow the course to the airport. “C” reminds to you to set in a crossing altitude that will allow you to pass over the field at an altitude slightly higher than pattern altitude. “E” calls for you to enter the airport elevation; now the Apex can calculate a vertical path to the runway. “R” stands for RMI—call up the RMI view on the PFD and you’ll have course guidance to the extended runway centerline of the chosen runway.
In all, the two-day course proved to be an efficient way to wring as much learning as possible into a relatively short period of time, and at a reasonable price. All PC–12 recurrent courses run $5,460; the two-day Apex familiarization course is $2,000.
You’re bound to come away with a new outlook on the airplane. With this experience under my belt I’m much more at home with the Apex, and I appreciate the PC–12 more than ever. Don’t know if I’m ready for that ARICER quite yet, though.
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